The joy that Walid Ahmed Abdel Kader swims with is unadulterated, genuine, and overwhelming.

Walid is a disabled Egyptian open water swimmer who only has one arm and one leg due to a train accident as a teenager. But he completed a 33.5 km crossing of the English Channel in 12 hours 59 minutes in 1990 at the age of 19 with David Whyte as his escort pilot. He received the Channel Swimming Association 1990 Award, Special Award to a Disabled Swimmer.

Walid explains his story to the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame chairperson Ned Denison here, “I had a terrible train accident that ultimately changed my life forever. In the accident, I lost my right leg and my left arm, permanently disabling me. I was in the hospital for over eight months.

I was approached by a disabled swimmer who advised me to talk to the head coach of the Egyptian national long distance swim team, Nabil ElShazly. Nabil told me that this would change my outlook on life and my disability. Long distance swimming gave me the determination to prove to the world and myself that you can overcome anything despite my disability.

After one year of the training and swimming, I went with a group of swimmers as part of the Egyptian national team to participate in swimming long distance in 1989. After accomplishing this long-distance swim, I started to believe that I could accomplish anything despite my disability.

In 1990 as a 19-year-old, I started to train harder to prepare to swim across the English Channel. I swam the English Channel with the dream that I would be the first person in history with only one leg and arm to swim across the English Channel. I swam the English Channel in 12 hours and 59 minutes under bad weather, high waves and severe currents.”

In the YouTube interview with Denison, Walid recounted the following:

* growing up in Alexandria, a coastal city in Egypt
* losing his left arm and right leg after falling down in a train in 1987 at the age of 16
* talking to Captain Nabil ElShazly, an International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Honor Swimmer, and getting excited to swim again
* being motivated to change the impression of how people looked at him through swimming
* joining the Egyptian national disabled swim team relay across the English Channel in 1989 in 10 hours 44 minutes at the age of 18
* feeling free in the water after his accident, changing his body position
* listening to ElShazly and how to overcome his accident
* getting motivated to swim solo across the English Channel
* believing completely in the faith of ElShazly
* training side-by-side with Nasser ElShazly and many top Egyptian swimmers
* arriving in Folkestone on August 15th with Mosad Saad, another disabled Egyptian swimmer who was missing a leg and finished his crossing in 13 hours 29 minutes
* starting his crossing of the English Channel at 8 am with only 2 choices: dying or crossing to Calais. He was the only person who crossed that day, finishing in 12 hours 59 minutes
* competing in the 1996 Paralympic Games and winning a silver medal in the 50m butterfly
* coaching handicapped swimmers and inspiring many young people because swimming gave him a raison d’etre (reason for living)

Copyright © 2008 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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