A FRENCHMAN whose arms and legs were amputated swam across the English Channel at the weekend using leg prostheses that have flippers attached.

Philippe Croizon, 42, had expected the tough crossing to take up to 24 hours but he finished in 13 and a half.

"I did it, I'm happy, I'm so happy, I can't believe it, it's crazy," he told France-Info radio, on arrival late Saturday.

Three dolphins joined him for a while.

"We took that as a sign of good luck," the swimmer's father, Gerard Croizon, told The Associated Press.

Philippe set off from Folkestone on the British side of the English Channel and arrived near the French town of Wissant.

At the narrowest point, the crossing is 34 kilometers.

His specially designed leg prostheses, which end in flippers, allow him to propel himself through the water. His truncated upper arms go through the motions of the crawl, and he breathes through a snorkel.

The swimmer lost his arms and legs after suffering an electric shock in 1994 as he stood on a ladder adjusting his television antenna, which touched a power line.

He parachuted from an airplane in 2007.

• frenchman [´frentʃmən] n.法国人 (初中英语单词)
• channel [´tʃænəl] n.海峡；航道；途径 (初中英语单词)
• arrival [ə´raivəl] n.到达；到达的人(物) (初中英语单词)
• swimmer [´swimə] n.游泳者 (初中英语单词)
• suffering [´sʌfəriŋ] n.痛苦；灾害 (初中英语单词)
• specially [´speʃəli] ad.专门地；特别地 (高中英语单词)
• ladder [´lædə] n.梯子；阶梯 (高中英语单词)
• weekend [´wi:kend, ,wi:k´end] n.周末休假 (英语四级单词)
• propel [prə´pel] vt.推进；推动 (英语六级单词)
• antenna [æn´tenə] n.触角；天线 (英语六级单词)