On September 22nd, 48-year-old Salvatore Cimmino will attempt an unprecedented 25 km swim around Boston Harbor as part of his Swimming in the Seas of the Globe (A Nuoto Nei Mari del Globo to promote disability awareness.
Cimmino lost his right leg above the knee at age 15 due to cancer and began swimming later in life for therapeutic reasons. This turned into a passion for open water swimming that he is using as a catalyst to bring attention to the need for improved technologies for disabled people and to prove that disabilities do not need to define an individual.
“Every man, every woman, wherever they live, they have an unalienable right to dignity,” explained Cimmino about his Boston Harbor swim.
“I’m here to reach the heart of those in power: those who can make new technologies accessible to people with disabilities, in order to improve their mobility, to help them enter the job market, to remove the obstacles that prevent them from attending school.”
Cimmino chose Boston as one of the stops on his world swimming tour because if its unique situation as a center of innovation in the fields of health care, research, technology, and biotechnology. “Boston is one of the most important economic centers in the U.S. and in the world. Its universities, MIT in particular, devote significant resources to research and development of prosthetic devices to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities. Among the departments that spend most of their time and resources on this research is the Biomechatronics Media Lab, chaired by Professor Hugh Herr who has agreed to support my message.”
Cimmino has collaborated with fellow amputee Professor Herr and other prosthetics researchers and technologists at MIT. During the swim, Cimmino will wear a custom-designed wetsuit that accommodates his missing right leg and will be assisted by Greg O’Connor, President of the Massachusetts Open Water Swimming Association. “This is a big event for us. MOWSA is pleased to support Salvatore in this record-setting attempt and we look forward to helping many more swimmers in similar events in the future.”
For more information about Cimmino, visit here.
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