Zorro Keeps The Dream Afloat

Courtesy of Marianne Wieland de Alvarez, Honu Para Swim Team, Vancouver, Canada.

Marianne Wieland de Alvarez, the coach and manager of the Honu Para Swim Team talks of Pedro Rangel Haro of Mexico.

“Pedro is an impressive and courageous Para swimmer with an amazing history of achievements. In 2018, he became the first double leg amputee to complete a solo crossing of the English Channel.

On September 26th, he swam from England to France under the auspices of the Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation in 15 hours 48 minutes.

Pedro has also proven himself in the pool by participating in four Paralympic Games, each time achieving a podium position in the 100m breaststroke in the SB5 category.

Before his solo attempt, Pedro prepared himself by participating in English Channel relays comprised of solely disabled swimmers on three separate times from 2014. One disabled team relay in 2016 was faster than all other six-man able-bodied relays that year. He is a remarkable young man who have a deep physical and mental determination to achieve his 30-year dream of swimming across the English Channel. He represents a positive image of perseverance who inspires countless others to never give up and overcome all limits.

Before dreaming of his crossing, PEdro first dreamed of climbing Mount Everest as a young child. When he was 8 years old, he suffered a terrible accident while playing on a moving train. He lost both his legs. When he told his father that his dream of climbing Mount Everest was over, his father insisted that there was an even greater challenge.

This was the first time that Pedro heard of the English Channel.

Years later, he learned to swim and was introduced to Paralympic swimming [his classification category is S7-SB5-SM6]. Pedro won a bronze medal in the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games, a gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, a bronze medal in the 2012 London Paralympic Games, and a bronze medal in the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. He is nicknamed ‘The Legend Rangel’ and ‘The Zorro of Paralympic Swimming’. His English Channel crossing led to a third nickname, ‘The Channel Crossing of El Zorro’.

It is an immense honor to coach Pedro and be part of his triumphs and realization of his dreams.”

For more information about the Honu Para Swim Society, visit www.honuswim.com.

The Honu Para Swim Team supports people of different abilities to improve their health and lifestyle through swimming.

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