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Eric Dargent surfs on Lafitenia beach in Saint-Jean de Luz, southwestern France. Picture: Gaizka Iroz/AFP
ERIC Dargent was surfing in the Indian Ocean in 2011 when a shark attacked him in the kind of gruesome scene that’s typically found in horror movies, New York Post reports.
“My leg was ripped off in a few seconds,†Dargent told Agence France-Presse. “I didn’t realise it right away. Luckily I wasn’t far from shore.â€
Doctors had to amputate above Dargent’s left knee, and urged him to find another sport, but the French surfer was determined to return to the waves.
Dargent lost a leg after a shark attack in 2011. Picture: Gaizka Iroz/AFPSource:AFP
“There’s this motivation, this energy, this revenge,†Dargent said.“Just a few days after the accident, I already wanted to get back on a surfboard.â€
So Dargent quit his job as a nurse and partnered up with Patrice Barattero, a snowboarding amputee who would compete in the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi.
The two worked with orthopedic specialist, Bertrand Tourret-Couderc, and a vocational high school to invent a prosthesis that’s resistant to both sea water and low temperatures.
“For Eric, getting back on a surfboard was as important as being able to walk again,†Tourret-Couderc told AFP.
Dargent invented a prothesis to continue with his passion. Picture: Gaizka Iroz/AFPSource:AFP
Dargent also created Surfeurs Dargent, an association that promotes and assists disabled people in extreme sports.
In 2015, Dargent won France’s first adaptive surfing championship, and then came in fifth at the world championships in California. He plans to return to both competitions in 2017.
“I forget about my handicap when I’m in the water,†Dargent told AFP.
Surfing has been added to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, and Dargent hopes the Paralympics will follow suit.
This story was first published in the New York Post