Over the weekend, Christophe Maleau a 12 year Old Swimming Prodigy achieved an usual and an amazing historical feat; as he successfully swam from neighboring island, Saint Lucia, to his native country; An extraordinary undertaking that has been attempted by just a few people who were older than him.
Christophe Maleau se jette à l’eau pour sa mère et les femmes atteintes du cancer. Il a mis 13h50 pour effectuer la traversée de 40 kilomètres entre Ste-Lucie et la #Martinique ! #OctobreRose #OctobreRose2020 pic.twitter.com/0DOFMWMFx6
— Jérémy Edouard (@bienglace) October 11, 2020
According to Loop News Caribbean; The challenging endeavor across the channel took the pre-teen 13 hours, 50 minutes and 47 seconds to complete, starting from the Bay of Saint Lucia at dawn on Saturday and successfully reaching Sainte Anne in Martinique around 6 pm.
Whilst Christophe maleau swam, his father keenly followed him in a canoe as well as doctors and divers and other family members who were in another boat.
Maleau, who dreams of swimming at the Olympics, explained he always had his eyes on the prize while in the open sea.
“I held on singing songs to myself, thinking about the encouragement I received on social media,” he said.
Christophe Maleau The Activist
Not only was Maleau’s eyes on the prize, the 12 year old was being an activist and raising awareness on breast cancer as well as encouraging his mother who is suffering from the disease and is currently in her remission phase, St. Lucia Times reports. The month of October is set aside each year to raise awareness on the disease.
“I was hungry at times during the crossing, I sometimes wanted to stop because I was tired,” Maleau admitted. “But when this idea crossed my mind, I told myself that I had no right. I had to continue for the cause I was defending.”
#Vidéo #Martinique #natation Le jeune Christophe Maleau, 12 ans, a débuté sa traversée Sainte-Lucie-Martinique à 5h10 ce samedi 10 octobre 2020. Il est parti de la baie de Sainte-Lucie et est attendu ce soir à Sainte-Anne à partir de 18 heures. pic.twitter.com/Z3tPs2FAFl
— Martiniquela1ère (@Martiniquela1e) October 10, 2020
His father also added: “Christophe got it into his head that he wanted to help cancer patients, so he does it by swimming.”
Christophe Maleau was welcomed in his home country by a cheering and excited crowd, and medical officials conducted checks on him to ensure he was physically well. Maleau joins the likes of fellow accomplished Martiniquan swimmer, Jacques Sicot, as well as French Olympic and European swimming champion, Gilles Rondy, to have successfully swum across that channel.
“It was he who ended up encouraging me,” his father said. “At the end there was swell, bigger waves and of course I was a little worried. But when he looked at me, I felt he was fine. He didn’t want to give up. It was out of the question.”
This isn’t the first time Maleau has accomplished a challenge, St. Lucia Times reports. He completed a 6.4 km swim in 2017 and proceeded to successfully swim between the Martiniquan towns, Diamant and Schoelcher, in the space of 10 hours in 2018.