Who he is:
A 42-year-old Frenchman and the first limbless man to swim the English Channel
Where you’ve heard of him:
Why, right here on Good Feed!
Sixteen years ago, Philippe Croizon, a former electrician, lost his limbs in an accident. (He was standing on a ladder adjusting a television antenna; when it came in contact with a power line, a 20,0000-volt charge electrocuted him to within an inch of his life.)
But that didn’t stop him from becoming the first limbless man to cross the English Channel.
After training for thirty hours a week for two years, he set out Saturday morning equipped with a set of specially designed prosthetic flippers, and swam the twenty-one miles across the channel in seven hours and three minutes.
Croizon’s first words after his victory were, “I did it. I’m happy, I’m so happy, I can’t believe it. It’s crazy!”
“I’ve done this for myself, for my family, and for all those who have suffered tragedy and lost their taste for life,” said the father of two.
And as if that wasn’t evidence enough of this guy’s awesomeness, Croizon was joined by a trio of dolphins who hung out with him for a portion of his swim.