Quadruple Amputee Swims English Channel

Philippe Crozon, a 42-year old Frenchman who had his arms and legs amputated more than 15 years ago, swam across the English Channel this past weekend with the aid of special prosthetics.  The challenging swim was expected to take as much as 24-hours to complete, but he managed to finish up in just 13 1/2 hours instead.

Philippe began his journey on Saturday at the British town of Folkerstone  and ended at Wissant on the French side of the Channel. He covered 21 miles of open water in between, and was joined for a time by three dolphins who helped to keep pace.

The Frenchman lost his limbs back in 1994 when he climbed a ladder to adjust his television antenna. The antenna was touching electrical wires and the resulting shock did severe damage to his limbs. That hasn't stopped him from living his life to the fullest, and back in 2007 he made similar headlines when he went skydiving.

For this swim he used specially designed prosthetics that include flippers built into the legs, while his arms go through the typical motions of a swimming crawl. Crozon breathes through a snorkel and manages to propel himself along and surprisingly good speeds.

So? What did you do this weekend? I know I didn't do anything close to this!

Thanks to Clay Abney from Adventure World Magazine for passing this my way over the weekend.