The tour lasted 11 days in which they faced cold and storms. The preparation to meet the objective had been under way for a year.
The French Paralympic Medalist Théo Curin, whose limbs were amputated as a child due to meningitis, made history on Saturday, November 20, by completing together with two other expert swimmers the longest crossing ever made in Lake Titicaca, with 120 kilometers swam between Bolivia and Peru.
Nobody before had dared to swim the distance that separates Copacabana (Bolivia) from the floating islands of the Uros in front of the bay of Puno (Peru), in a journey through icy waters at 3,800 meters above sea level, and even less in total autonomy, without receiving aid during the journey.
In this intrepid adventure marked by harsh weather conditions, Curin, 20, it had as escorts the swimmer Malia Metella, five times European champion and Olympic medalist in Athens 2004; and the adventurer Matthieu Witvoet, who in 2017 traveled 18,000 kilometers by bicycle where he traveled 17 countries.
Between the three of them they dragged along the entire route a raft in which they slept and ate for the eleven days it took them to complete this challenge, the first of the non-profit association created by Curin to carry out awareness projects on disability, resilience and the protection of the planet.
Despite arriving exhausted and with the accumulated fatigue of eleven days of titanic efforts, happiness was absolute when the three placed their hands on the Uros, a set of floating islands built with reeds from the lake where a traditional indigenous community lives, which received them with their best offerings.
“At last it is a reality, and it is something we have done together,” said Curin after bursting with joy with a loud cry and then breaking into tears, after the three of them had swam the last stretch among the shouts of encouragement from the Aymara population that lives in the Uros.
After winning a silver medal at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where he was the youngest athlete in France, Trouble qualifying for Tokyo 2020 prompted Curin to swim across Titicaca, to broaden your horizons, test your ability in other settings and achieve something unique.
Eleven days of adversity
Gone are eleven extreme days full of difficulties and unforeseen events, where cold, storms and especially strong gusts of wind and intense water currents within the lake have been its main enemies.
For more than a year the three athletes have been preparing for this challenge, with several trainings carried out in the Pyrenees and hyperbaric chamber sessions to simulate the environmental and hypoxic conditions of Titicaca.
However, none of that managed to resemble the real scenario that they had to face, he recognized Efe the director of the French open water team, Stéphane Lecat, and now also in charge of the joint training of Curin, Metella and Witvoet.
To begin with, on the fourth day they deviated two kilometers from the route during the night, when the raft’s anchorage failed, and they suffered more than necessary to regain the correct course under the threat of a hail storm that forced them to search shelter on a pontoon on the shore of the lake.
Israeli device helps mobility of people with disabilities
On the ninth day they could not advance a single meter, as Metella lost her bathing suit and her colleagues lost several hours trying to locate it without success.
When they wanted to resume the journey, a devilish wind left them unable to move, since they preferred to dose their forces and not waste them in a strong current that was hardly going to prevent them from moving forward, especially with the boat in tow.
However, conditions improved notably on the tenth day and the shortlist of swimmers was able to make up for lost time by advancing 25 kilometers in a single day.
Under fearsome storm
Para Mathieu Witvoet, the most difficult were the thunderstorms, in which they even came to fear for their lives, since the boat that they propelled with their strokes had some electrical devices that work with solar energy.
People with disabilities and new technologies, a form of social inclusion
That night, under heavy hail, they took shelter in the house of a local who kindly hosted them to protect themselves from the rays.
“You have almost saved our lives. This achievement is not only ours, but also the Bolivians and Peruvians who have helped us ”, said Witvoet, who affirmed that during the journey he has experienced all kinds of emotions, from joy to sadness, to anger.
The raft that the three swimmers towed for 120 kilometers was equipped with solar panels, a small weather station and a shower and gas stove, which will now be in the hands of Research for Development (IRD) to carry out research projects in the lake. (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
