For Rudy Garcia-Tolson, participating in the Tokyo Paralympic Games was no easy task.
When the 32-year-old decided to defend the colors of the United States for the last time in the games, it was already five years since he had left competition, which meant that he was training on his own. means for evaluations.
Problem, when the pandemic broke, access to the Olympic swimming pools was limited and the swimmer, who lost both legs at the age of 5, found himself without a place to exercise.
But that was without counting on the generosity of David Duchovny who, it should be known, practices triathlon as an amateur and, as a result, has a swimming pool suitable for training in the garden of his house in Malibu.
And when the actor learned that Rudy Garcia-Tolson was desperately looking for a basin, it was with pleasure that he opened his door to him!
The obstacle course
A real boon for Rudy Garcia-Tolson who, after a few weeks of training, was able to prove to the coaches of the national Paralympic swimming team that he still had it in his stomach. “He was a wild card. We had not seen him for four or five years, ”admitted Erin Popovich, selection director, interviewed last June by the
New York Times
. And the bet paid off as the swimmer managed to qualify for the competition after an evaluation organized in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Rudy Garcia-Tolson is currently competing at the Tokyo Paralympic Games in swimming for the 200-meter medley and 100-meter breaststroke.
Regardless of his place on the podium, he will leave with the pride of having pushed his limits one last time, and also with one certainty: he can always go swimming with David Duchovny if he feels like it!
Sport
Paralympic Games 2021: The rider Alexandre Léauté offers the first gold medal to France
David duchovny
Swimming
People
Paralympic Games
Video