“I am not a hero and I am even someone privileged”, reacts the swimmer quadri-amputee

Theo Curin, the 21-year-old Paralympic swimmer, whose four limbs were amputated following meningitis during his childhood, has just crossed Lake Titicaca from Bolivia to Peru. A feat of 122 km in the relay swim with two other athletes. They arrived Saturday, November 20 after 11 days of trekking in icy water at an altitude of 3,800 meters.

franceinfo: How do you feel?

Théo Curin: It is a feeling of relief. We experienced so much in this adventure that I never suspected. I didn’t think I was going to put my life in danger.

“Three times I thought I was going to go through it and to tell myself that we are done is a phew of relief.”

Theo Curin

to franceinfo

You had to see when we arrived, there were people from all over the world, even people from France who had been on the bus for hours. The craze is completely crazy. I want to enjoy, to rest, to go back to my loved ones and hug them and take pleasure in everything I do.

What happened to you ?

We faced unforeseen weather conditions that we had not suspected before leaving, such as thunderstorms where lightning falls on the right and left every five minutes. We had a terrible night in the middle of the lake, drifting because we didn’t have time to land on the coast. We threw sea anchors but at that time there was a storm in the middle of the lake and we thought we were going to overturn several times. When we are on a platform of barely 8m², three of us wonder what we are going to do if it turns around because we are 90 kilometers from the edge. These are all the moments that really scared me.

What kept you going?

On the eighth day, I was on the verge of breaking down, I was tired, exhausted, I couldn’t take it anymore, I had been very scared both nights. I started telling Malia and Matthieu that I wanted to quit or that we had to find a nearer finish because I wasn’t going to hold on. In the end, we talked for a long time, they found the words and we didn’t let go. At the end of the 11th day, we did 122 km and we are very proud of that. No regrets.

Why don’t you consider yourself a hero?

I am not a hero and I am even a privileged person because there are a lot of people who have dreams and goals and unfortunately they cannot go to the end because they lack money, people around them to go to the end. I was lucky to have had people around me, sponsors, so I feel very privileged. I’m not a hero because what we did three of us did. Malia and Matthieu did it too. This proves that it is open to everyone.

“You have to train, believe very strongly in yourself and give yourself the means.”

Theo Curin

to franceinfo

Why such a challenge?

Beyond our sporting challenge, our personal quest, we try to send a message on the ecological side, we try to defend the commitments of Peruvians and Bolivians and they are very proud of that too. The message has passed and we are very happy.

What challenge will you take on next?

The next challenge I don’t know, I just finished this one, but I am someone who needs to have daily goals so I will digest the Titicaca challenge and then with the team that m ‘surrounds we are bound to find something even crazier to do.