With both arms amputated, he swims 180 km for a good cause

Thierry Corbalan, welcomed by his wife on the beach of Mandelieu-La Napoule, Sunday, September 20, 2020 -

It is a 180 km journey that he has just completed swimming between Corsica and the mainland.

And the new feat of Thierry Corbalan, who left Calvi on Monday and arrived this Sunday afternoon in Mandelieu-La Napoule (Alpes-Maritimes), is all the more impressive as this "Corsican dolphin", as he is nicknamed, is amputated of both arms.

"It is a crossing which, for me, has a very great symbolic value because I am going to join the city where I lost my two arms", he explained at the start.

It was in this town, near Cannes, in 1988, that this 61-year-old man was electrified by a high voltage line.

This is also where Daniel Dulta, the one who saved his life thirty-two years ago, welcomed him after these seven days of crossing, to pass a message.

"Disability does not prevent you from living extraordinary experiences"

“As with each of his challenges, Thierry Corbalan's goal is to communicate about the Le Dauphin Corse association, which helps people with illness or disability and to demonstrate that disability does not prevent them from living extraordinary experiences. », Explains his team.

During this entire odyssey, the sixty-year-old swam between 10 and 12 hours a day with a monofin.

A team of seven people was also mobilized for safety management and organization aboard the catamaran, where Thierry Corbalan could rest.

Toulouse

“Everyone is handicapped,” explains visually impaired mountaineer David Labarre

Society

"A magical moment", "A pride" ... Amputated of the tibia, they climb the Mont-Blanc

• Sport

• Handicap

• Society

• Nice