Paraplegic’s 8km swim makes it to World Records Academy

  • | Sunday | 30th April, 2017

Panaji: Mohammad Shams Aalam Shaikh's feat for the longest open-sea swim by a paraplegic has been recorded by the World Record Academy. He has recently been assessed as having 72 per cent disability.Shaikh is now gearing up for the 2018 Asian Games and is hoping to find the right coach for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. Earlier this month Shaikh swam 8km in four hours and four minutes in the open sea, off Candolim beach.The swim was a test of endurance for the 30-year-old mechanical engineer and MBA student at Sathyabama University, Chennai, who braved his immobility and swam against a very strong tide along the Sinquerim-Baga-Candolim route.He broke his own previous record of 6km in one hour 40 minutes and 28 seconds.A black belt and qualified coach with over 40 gold medals to his name, Shaikh was left paralyzed from the waist down in his mid-20s when an MRI scan revealed a tumor in his spinal cord.He told STOI that he took up the challenge as he wanted to prove that it is possible for persons with disabilities and spinal cord injuries to push themselves beyond their limits.Diagnosed with 100 per cent disability in 2012, Shaikh says swimming didn't just help him beat depression but regain control over some of his muscles and even get rid of the catheter he used.

Panaji: Mohammad Shams Aalam Shaikh's feat for the longest open-sea swim by a paraplegic has been recorded by the World Record Academy. Earlier this month Shaikh swam 8km in four hours and four minutes in the open sea, off Candolim beach.The swim was a test of endurance for the 30-year-old mechanical engineer and MBA student at Sathyabama University, Chennai, who braved his immobility and swam against a very strong tide along the Sinquerim-Baga-Candolim route.He broke his own previous record of 6km in one hour 40 minutes and 28 seconds.A black belt and qualified coach with over 40 gold medals to his name, Shaikh was left paralyzed from the waist down in his mid-20s when an MRI scan revealed a tumor in his spinal cord.He told STOI that he took up the challenge as he wanted to prove that it is possible for persons with disabilities and spinal cord injuries to push themselves beyond their limits.Diagnosed with 100 per cent disability in 2012, Shaikh says swimming didn't just help him beat depression but regain control over some of his muscles and even get rid of the catheter he used. He has recently been assessed as having 72 per cent disability.Shaikh is now gearing up for the 2018 Asian Games and is hoping to find the right coach for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

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