Buoyed by his dream, swimmer inspires others

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Buoyed by his dream, swimmer inspires others

He turned to the sea after his legs were paralyzed 30 years ago, and

Valencia now wants to help other disabled people.

By Marosi, Times Staff Writer

July 23, 2007

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-shark23jul23,1,1998246.story?

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The car accident that severed Valencia's spine 30 years ago

couldn't crush his spirit. He found meaning in the sea, where his

powerful swimming stroke dragged his paralyzed legs across the

Strait of Gibraltar and several island-to-mainland spans off Baja

California.

But despite finishing more than one dozen marathon distances, one

dream always eluded him: swimming in America.

On Sunday, the disabled swimmer from Ensenada finally got the chance.

Under overcast skies in San Clemente, a crowd of family and friends

sent him off with prayers and shouts of " good luck " as he swam alone

through a set of gentle waves into the ocean. He started at North

Beach, swam almost four miles to Dana Point and then headed back

south to the San Clemente pier, where hundreds of people were

gathering for the San Clemente Ocean Festival.

For Valencia, swimming in the U.S. marked the culmination of a

lifetime of incredible feats, and he promised to complete the

distance for his new audience north of the border. As always, he

crossed himself, asking God to protect him, before pulling himself

into the ocean.

" I've always wanted to swim in the United States, " Valencia said in

Spanish. " So Americans can see what I can do…. I'm going to burn the

waters with my speed. "

Valencia's feats were once celebrated in his hometown of Ensenada

and beyond. He met presidents, and musicians wrote songs about the

paralyzed man who has swum alongside sharks, crocodiles and sea

lions. But Valencia, 47, has had a hard time lately.

He hoped that someday, his swimming would get him enough recognition

so he could fund treatment for his back or enable him to get a

coaching job helping other disabled people. But money and

opportunities are scarce in Mexico, especially for the handicapped.

Valencia lives in a slum apartment and supplements his $340

government pension by selling the lobsters and octopus he catches on

his practice swims in the Bahia de Todos Santos off Ensenada. After

an article appeared about him in The Times in May, offers trickled

in, including the opportunity to swim at the San Clemente Ocean

Festival.

" He is electrifying, " said Lloyd Darden, a retired plastics industry

executive who helped mobilize a team of volunteers, including three

state lifeguards and Bob Berwick, a friend who lent his boat, the

Patriot, for supplies.

Moral support came from dozens of worshipers at Darden's

congregation, Christ Lutheran Church of San Clemente. They came

early for their weekly service on North Beach to cheer him on.

" He's an inspiration, " said Pastor Margaret Duttera. " He wants to

inspire other disabled people that there are no limits. "

Ocean conditions were ideal. The water was 70 degrees and flat, and

his short, choppy stroke plowed through it. Valencia, who wears a

black wetsuit, calls himself the Black Shark, inspired by the

fearsome animal's graceful swimming style.

" He is like a shark. Nothing fazes him, " said Dick Deboer, the

lifeguard supervisor at Doheny State Beach. A longtime competitive

swimmer, Deboer said watching Valencia propel himself with his arms

alone for such a long distance left him amazed.

" I couldn't imagine not being able to kick and having to drag your

lower body along, " Deboer said.

Valencia swam past North Beach, past Capistrano Beach, his arms

churning as he passed multimillion-dollar homes atop the palisades

and headed for the halfway point, a buoy 200 yards off Doheny State

Beach. The 3 1/2 -mile swim had taken about two hours.

" He's charging. He's having a great swim, " said Deboer, who got

regular progress reports from fellow lifeguard Grant Shubin, who

escorted Valencia in a paddleboat.

But Valencia was struggling. The previous night he had eaten a meal

with green peppers that had given him stomach cramps. Valencia was

vomiting in the water and the indigestion was slowing his progress.

But he made the turn at the buoy and headed to the pier.

Valencia trained for five months, doing dozens of push-ups and yoga

exercises daily and swimming countless miles in an Olympic-sized

pool and in the Bahia de Todos Santos.

The training paid off.

After five hours, the crowd at the pier spotted Valencia swimming

toward shore, escorted by two paddleboats and a rescue boat. A team

of lifeguards went out to greet him. Shubin and fellow lifeguard

Terzo lifted Valencia and carried him to the sand. Hundreds

of people — many of whom had just completed their own swims and some

of whom were teary-eyed — stood on their beach towels and gave him

an ovation.

Valencia wrapped his arms around family members and friends who

waited in line to congratulate him. " Usted es nuestro héroe " (You

are our hero), fellow swimmer Caroline Boullon told Valencia.

Joan Stauffer, who saw Valencia's start, said she made a point of

being there for the finish. " I'm so proud of him. It just shows that

anything is possible if you try hard enough. "

Valencia, shivering from five hours in the ocean, was bundled in

blankets. On stage, he grew teary-eyed and raised his hands

triumphantly. Deboer, as a token of their new friendship, later

promised to give Valencia a customized beach wheelchair with

inflatable wheels.

Valencia hopes to return to the U.S. so he can find sponsors for

more swims. Last year, he was a finalist for the Hall of Fame for

the National Spinal Cord Injury Assn., and he said he believes he

has much more to offer.

" I want to help disabled people overcome depression and achieve

their goals, " Valencia said. " Inside them is a shark. They just need

to let it out and start fighting. "