A FORMER Royal Marine who lost both of his legs in a mine blast is carving out a new career as a successful sportsman.

Joe Townsend has just returned home to Sussex after finishing a close fourth at the World Paratriathlon series competition in Madrid at the weekend.

The 27-year-old from Eastbourne faced a tough field in the competition but put in a tough challenge, only missing out on the bronze medal by two minutes.

Mr Townsend was wounded in Afghanistan in 2008 after standing on an anti-tank mine which was buried just below ground.

He was immediately flown back to Camp Bastion and then onto Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, where he spent five weeks in a critical care ward.

Since 2008, Mr Townsend has been determined not to let his problems get the better of him and helped inspire the current generation of wounded by showing there really is life after injury. He has competed in many endurance races including the Bolton Iron Man twice and various other triathlons.

In June 2012 Mr Townsend took on the world’s toughest cycling race, cycling more than 3,000 miles across America with seven other wounded servicemen in aid of the charity Help for Heroes.

Mr Townsend said: “I was really happy to be back racing at the start of the 2015 season. I raced the Madrid course in October 2014 prior to major shoulder surgery.

“To get back on the same course only seven months post-surgery and put a quicker time in for each discipline for me was a huge success.

“In a truly world class field, a fourth place, although gutting to be just outside the medals, was a great finish.

“A few more months and I will be back to full fitness and hope to be back on the podium.”

Mr Townsend has been supported by Help for Heroes since he was first injured, enabling him to compete as an international athlete and paying for specialist equipment and competition entries.

His goal is take part in the Paralympic Games in Rio next year.

Head of Help for Heroes sports recovery, Martin Colclough, said: “Joe is a fantastic example of what wounded, injured and sick service men and women can do post injury, by using the power of adaptive sport throughout their recovery.

“It was fantastic for him to open his season with a solid performance after surgery earlier in the year.”

Paratriathlons involve sprinting, swimming and cycling, with athletes using racing wheelchairs and specially adapted bikes.

Background

Mr Townsend took four gold medals at the 2014 Invictus Games in London.

He was presented with the Jaguar Award for Exceptional Performance at the closing ceremony for the sporting event for wounded and sick service personnel.

His victories included the 100m, 200m, 400m and 1500m wheelchair races and he also won bronze in the men’s hand bike time trial, silver in the circuit race and fourth in the men’s lightweight powerlifting.

Mr Townsend took a starring role in the opening ceremony of the London Paralympics in 2012 by descending into the Olympic Stadium by zip wire.