News

A retired French carpenter has come agonisingly close to becoming the first one-armed man to swim the English Channel.

The 35 year-old has been forced to abandon his bid within sight of the French coast.

Olivier Desmet, whose left forearm was amputated after a motorcycle crash, had spent eight months building up fat stores.

"For me it's a great success and not a failure", Desmet told Reuters, despite having to give up the challenge on Monday when strong currents dragged him off his planned route.

"I was in tears when the captain of the boat with me made me come aboard, because I still had plenty of energy left even though I'd spent 14½ hours in the water", he said.

Desmet said he trained for eight months in a local pond and put on over 22lbs with a diet of chips and beer.