Swimming: Amputee conquers Channel

Philllipe Croizon as he crosses the English Channel. Photo / AP

A quadruple amputee has conquered the English Channel.

French father of two Philippe Croizon took 13.5 hours to swim from England to France with the help of specially designed flipper-shaped prosthetic legs.

He used his stumps of arms to steady himself.

The former metalworker lost his limbs when the was hit by a 20,000 volt charge 16-years-ago.

He says as he lay in his hospital bed he saw a television documentary about a woman who swam across the Channel and asked himself, "why not me one day?"

Croizon made headlines in 2007 for parachuting from an airplane.

He wrote a book about his experiences called 'I decided to live'.

- NEWSTALK ZB