Chicago Police Officer Nial Funchion’s life was in turmoil in 2007. He got divorced, lost his home and tore a shoulder muscle — keeping him from his lifelong passion: swimming.
Three years later, Funchion happened to speak with a former colleague, Officer Densey Cole, who’d become paralyzed in a car accident. Cole revealed he admired Funchion for swimming the English Channel in 1992. And that snapped Funchion out of what he called the darkest period of his life.
“When he told me I was his hero, I had to live up to that,” Funchion said. “My eyes started welling up. It was humbling.”
In 2010 — after that chance meeting with Cole — Funchion got back in the water and resumed his rigorous training. And on Tuesday, he swam the 24 miles from Catalina Island to California’s coast, completing the elite Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, which also included his 2012 swim around Manhattan Island and his English Channel conquest. The three swimming marathons totaled 73.5 miles.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
0 comments:
Post a Comment