3-time Olympic rowing champion Reed paralyzed after stroke

LONDON – Three-time Olympic rowing champion Pete Reed says he has become partially paralyzed from a stroke.

Reed won a gold medal for Britain at each of the last three Olympics before retiring last year. He says on Instagram he is paralyzed from the chest down after suffering a stroke in the middle of his spine last month. Reed says the extent of the damage is still not clear.

He adds “there is a very small chance I will make no recovery and a very small chance I will make a full recovery. Much more likely it will be somewhere in between.”

View this post on Instagram

A short clip says it all. Thank you for your thoughts. I have a wonderful support network and everything I need at this stage. Sometimes life gives you lemons - what are you going to do about it? 💪👍 A bump in the road and a new chapter. Onwards!

A post shared by Pete Reed(@petereed) on Oct 9, 2019 at 10:08am PDT

Reed is an officer in the British Navy. He was a member of the gold-winning coxless-four crew at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, and switched to the eight for 2016.

Associated Press (AP)