Luke Reeson, who took four bullets during his second tour of Afghanistan in 2008, came away from the Invictus Games with two gold and two silver medals.

In the 50m breaststroke he even knocked two seconds off his personal best, coming within a second of the British record for his category.

The 28-year-old, of Kirkfell Avenue, Cockermouth, was among more than 500 injured servicemen and woman from 15 different countries who took part.

He was watched on by his girlfriend Becca Sowerby and sister Hannah.

In the inaugural Invictus Games Luke won five medals but was thrilled this time round to win his first individual gold medal at an international event.

Nevertheless he’s still hard on himself.

“Again I was a little bit disappointed because I’d done a lot of work and I expected to win one of the other races as well but I was pipped to the post,” says Luke who was gunning for gold in the 100m freestyle.

But he suffered from a sickness bug and dehydration for the first two days in Florida.

Under doctors orders he was locked up in his room and was unable to eat anything in the days leading up to the heats.

“I was lucky to get through to the finals. I was pretty much playing catch up. We were there for 10 days, everyone else went training for the first two days and I was in my room,” he says.

“We were doubting whether I’d even make the finals. So to then come out to win two races was good. I was still left a little bit disappointed. All the work you put in is down to less than a minute’s work.”

“I wasn’t expecting any medals at the first one. It’s only really from there where I’ve trained full time. I went into this quietly confident that I’d do well. I set my own high standards that were sort of higher than the medals last time. There was more expectation this time.”

Even in the races he wins and comes second in, Luke is always aiming to be faster and reach the next goal.

He’s got a lot to look forward to with the World Championships and potentially another Invictus Games next year but Luke’s ultimate goal is to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

“It’s a long time away. There’ll be lots of competitions in between but Tokyo will be the next major competition,” says Luke. “I never thought when I first got injured I’d end up doing this full time.

“I’m quite competitive but I don’t know where the determination comes from. It’s just stubborness and I’m strong-headed.

“If someone sets me a goal, I’ll try and set one harder. If someone tells me I can’t do something, I’ll try and do it.”

He is in no doubt about the importance of the Invictus Games, which will be staged again next year, for injured servicemen and women.

“So many people have been injured. You hear about the people who have died but not those who have got injured, these games are massive and so good to be part of.

“It’s such a great experience, it was great to be part of a team again,” he says.

Luke chatted a couple of times to Prince Harry who presented the 4 x 50m relay team with their gold medals.

“He wished us luck before the races and congratulated us afterwards.

“It’s weird that it’s normal. It happens that often and he’s there so often it’s just like one of the lads walking in. He doesn’t demand any attention or anything.”

Harry wasn’t the only public figure he met out there. Luke was thrilled to meet Australian swimming champion Ian Thorpe and saw Linford Christie, Morgan Freeman and Michelle Obama.

Last week he met the Queen after she unveiled a new memorial dedicated to fallen soldiers of his regiment, the Duke of Lancaster Regiment, who have lost their lives since its formation a decade ago.

Luke, who has been retained in the Army in a full-time sports position, trains full time at Cockermouth Swimming Club and has brief spells of training with Glenn Smith and Paralympic swimmer Ollie Hynd.

He also teaches six and seven-year-olds weekly at Cockermouth and stands in for the head coach on occasions.

He’s undergone numerous operations since he was shot.

There is still metal and fragements of bullet in his leg but for the time being Luke is concentrating on his swimming rather than being laid up in bed recovering from more surgery.