Between sporting and ecological challenge, Théo Curin has started his crazy crossing of Lake Titicaca

Cyrille de la Morinerie, edited by Manon Fossat 10:41 am, November 12, 2021

He had given up on the Tokyo Paralympic Games to prepare for this extraordinary challenge: swimming 122 km in water at 10 degrees.

Swimmer Théo Curin tackles Lake Titicaca, the highest on the planet, in South America.

The young French amputee of four limbs is currently trying to cross the lake in total autonomy.

The challenge is of course sporting, but the swimmer also has a message about the environment to convey.

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Théo Curin left the beach of a small Bolivian village on Wednesday in the company of two other adventurers, the former Olympic runner-up swimmer Malia Metella and the environmentalist Matthieu Witvoet.

They are currently taking turns in very cold and turbulent water at an altitude of 3,800 meters.

A crossing of ten days in total autonomy, during which the trio take turns towing a boat of 500 kilos.

An ecological goal

The three adventurers will eat and sleep on this boat made from waste, because the goal, beyond the sporting feat, is ecological. "It's a committed challenge. Today, I swim more and more in natural environments and sometimes I come face to face with plastic bottles. And it drives me crazy. It annoys me", a- he explained to Canal +. 

Théo, who trained for a year in a lake in the Pyrenees, wants to show that anything is possible despite his handicap.

After severe meningitis at the age of 6, he had all four limbs amputated.

His meeting with Philippe Croizon, also a quad-amputee, was decisive.

The intrepid swimmer participated in the Paralympic Games in Rio, he appears in the series

on France 3 and has even become the face of a cosmetics brand.