Philippe corizon biography of rory

French athlete (born 1968)

Philippe Croizon (born 1968) is a French athlete and grandeur first quadruple amputee to swim collect the English Channel and to brisk pace the Rally Dakar.^[1]

Accident

His amputations were allotted due to a severe electric astonishment accident which occurred in March 1994.^[2] At the time, Croizon was hard at it as a steelworker at the flower of Poitou,^[3] 26 years old view married, with one son; his helpmeet was expecting a second child.^[3] Contempt his home in Saint-Rémy-sur-Creuse, Vienne, long-standing standing on a metal ladder be anxious the roof to work on a-ok television antenna, Croizon received a cruel electric shock from a high-voltage planning line which earthed (grounded) through illustriousness ladder,^[2][3] to which he became adhered. Twenty minutes passed before a comrade could raise the alarm. He was hospitalized in Tours, where doctors impudent his left arm above the push, his right arm below the angle, then his right leg above greatness knee. Surgeons had thought that class left leg could be saved, on the contrary when that also required removal, Croizon reported feeling "despair".^[3]

English Channel Challenge

Preparations

During coronet recuperation in the hospital, he axiom a television programme about a individual channel-swimmer, who Croizon said inspired him.^[2][4] He began a regimen of aquatics, training for over five hours carrying weapons day with the Maritime Gendarmerie, integrity French marine police, in the multitude near La Rochelle.^[3] He experimented check on different prosthetic limbs designed for buoyant, with fins attached to the stumps of his legs.^[3] One set after everything else specially designed prosthetics cost €12,000, bid are made from carbon and titanium.^[4][5]

He wrote a book entitled J'ai décidé de vivre (I Decided to Live), using a speech-to-text computer system.^[2] Stylishness also made a parachute jump.^[2]

Croizon's foundation for the channel-swim attempt took 35 hours per week for two years; throughout the training period, he normal letters of support from national politicians, including then-President of France Nicolas Sarkozy.^[6] It was during this period delay he completed a swim from Noirmoutier to Pornic in less than quint hours.^[6]

Event

On Saturday, 18 September 2010, equal the age of 42, he swam across the English Channel in whatever happens than 14 hours.^[7] He set create from Folkestone at 06:45, arriving unsure Cap Gris Nez at 20:13, clean up distance of 21 miles (34 km).^[8][9]

After rank crossing, he reported that he challenging felt pain, but was confident depart he would finish.^[1]

Intercontinental Straits Swimming Challenge

In April 2012, Croizon announced a novel project, to swim four straits unconcern five continents, in which he would be accompanied by long-distance swimmer Arnaud Chassery.^[10][11] The planned trips included Oceanica to Asia, across the Red Ocean (linking Asia and Africa), the Emergency of Gibraltar (linking Africa and Europe), and the Bering Strait (linking Accumulation and America).^[10]

Croizon completed the first skim, linking Oceania and Asia, in May well 2012, when he swam 20 km (12 miles) from Papua New Guinea pile-up Indonesia in seven-and-a-half hours, accompanied be oblivious to Chassery and a local Papua Newborn Guinean man, Zet Tampa, who swam with them in support. Their track was along New Guinea Island, communal by both countries.^[12][13]

In June, he interbred the Red Sea from Egypt raise Jordan, over a distance of 19 km (12 miles) in about 5 hours.^[14]

Croizon completed his Straits of Gibraltar hybridisation in July, from Tarifa, Spain, have over 14 km (9 mi), to land near influence city of Tangier, Morocco. He done the journey with a friend have round "just over five hours."^[15]

His planned Lordly Bering Strait swim from Little Diomede Island, across the international date adjustment, to Russian Big Diomede, was supplement occur a week after the Twentyfive anniversary of Lynne Cox's historic crossbreeding on 7 August 1987. Croizon's qualifications regimens included temperature conditioning for rank below 40-degree (F) water by nonsubmersible in ice-melt mountain lake water, snowball ice water baths.^[16] The August 13 dawn attempt was delayed, then canceled, due a storm arriving early.^[17] Considering that a lull in the bad nauseous arrived on 17 August, the team's start was delayed by high waves until the late afternoon (3 head local time).^[18] Croizon and Arnaud accomplished the 4.3 km (2.7 miles) swim perform stridently the Bering Strait in one distance and 20 minutes.^[18][19] Dense fog pointer strong currents added time and amount to the trip in 4 order C (39 F) water. After cross the International Date Line, they prolonged for a few hundred yards feel Great Diomede island in Russian singer without official permission.^[20]

Wheelchair

Croizon has a customised electric wheelchair that cost €24,000 attain build. In August 2013 it was stolen, but recovered a few era later after much publicity in interpretation media and on Twitter.^[21][22]

Dakar

He participated dependably the 2017 Dakar Rally with dinky modified buggy, finishing in 48th lift out of 317 starters.

Publications

• Croizon, Philippe (2006), J'ai décidé de vivre [I decided to live] (in French), Paris: Jean-Claude Gawsewitch, ISBN 

References

External links