Axel May with AFP 07:15, March 26, 2023, modified at 07:15, March 26, 2023

Six women arrived Saturday on the island of Moorea, in French Polynesia, after rowing on a board for 80 days, from Peru, for a solidarity challenge against cancer. With this sporting adventure, the expedition "Cap optimist" wishes to help children with cancer and their companions.

Their names are Stéphanie, Alexandra, Emmanuelle, Marie, Margot, Itziar. And they have all endured "personal storms" (illness, mourning, incest). They found their salvation in sport. Leaving Lima on January 4, these five French women and a Spanish woman were welcomed some 8,000 kilometers away by hundreds of Polynesians, some of whom have cancer. They rode the last few metres on a traditional six-seater canoe before being reunited with their families. "It's a lot of joy and a great relief, the culmination of a three-year project with preparation: I find my daughter after an exceptional welcome," said one of the rowers, Alexandra Lux.

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"It was really hard to row each four hours a day"

"80 days is a long time. We felt a little bit like we were the last survivors. We were really cut off from everything that could happen like the news. We didn't have too much communication with the families so it's true that it wasn't easy. We were really very focused on our sports and solidarity project. It's funny to put your foot back on the ground, on a land that doesn't move. Being able to hug our children, our spouses, there is nothing more comforting, "she continues at the microphone of Europe 1.

"It was really hard to row each four hours a day, but it was also a mental challenge, and human, to live together on a small boat," said another rower, Emmanuelle Bescheron.

"We only retain the positive"

All are high-level athletes and one of them, the world champion in coastal rescue Stéphanie Barneix, has beaten four cancers. The rowers took turns every hour, day and night, to make their crossing lying down or squatting on a large paddle board. "It was very hard physically and especially mentally. But at the finish, we only remember the positive, only the good moments, we quickly forget the difficulty, the small tensions that there may have been, "adds Alexandra Lux.

Each kilometre covered brought in 100 euros

This challenge of the association Hope Team East raises funds to equip care centers with sports equipment and support children with cancer. Each kilometer covered brought in 100 euros, which allowed the six women to raise 800,000 euros, divided 40% to finance the challenge and 60% for solidarity actions.

The rowers will go to schools on Monday, then to the hospital of Tahiti and the new Cancer Institute of French Polynesia, to promote sport-health.