Limbless Man Swims Bering Strait
A French swimmer who lacks full legs and arms has successfully swum the frigid waters separating Alaska and Russia with the aid of paddle-like prosthetics, expedition representatives said.
Philippe Croizon, whose limbs were amputated after a 1994 electrical accident at age 26, completed his swim late Friday from Alaska’s Little Diomede Island to the Russian maritime border near Big Diomede Island. Mr. Croizon’s website said the expected direct distance of the swim was to be about 4 kilometres.
Mr. Croizon had intended to swim all the way to the shoreline of Big Diomede, but regional Russian authorities denied him permission to enter the territory, expedition representatives said.
His swim to Russian waters took about an hour and 15 minutes, Marc Gaviard, co-ordinator for the expedition, said in a telephone interview from Little Diomede.
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