Dubbed the “Arch to Arc”, the event which starts at Marble Arch in the City of London and finishes at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, combining running, open water swimming and cycling, is renowned for its intensity and the physical rigour it demands of its participants.
“It’s a dream come true. This feat shows that everything is possible with determination and perseverance,” the Moroccan athlete told MAP, not hiding his pride at having been able to raise the national flag upon his arrival at the famous Arc de Triomphe in the French capital, won over by the atmosphere of the Paralympic Games.
Ichem Zaher said he was “very happy” to be the “first Moroccan and African” to be able to take up this challenge, which requires “exceptional endurance”, reinforced by “an indomitable will”.
These are the main parameters for achieving this performance, assures the man who ran more than 135 kilometers, swam the Channel in more than 17 hours in freezing water (over a distance of more than 47 kilometers), and finished with a 300-kilometer cycle ride.
In his eyes, this feat is not just a personal victory but also “a message of hope and inspiration.”
The Moroccan Enduroman puts his sporting performances at the service of a noble cause: raising funds to finance vital operations for children suffering from heart defects, from disadvantaged countries, thus offering them a chance to live and develop healthily.
“My goal is to demonstrate that the limits are only those that we impose on ourselves. But more than that, I hope that this feat can save lives by providing concrete help to children who need these vital operations,” he said.
A salesman in life, the Moroccan athlete, originally from Oujda and living in France, believes in Morocco’s ability to rise to the international endurance sports scene, considering his achievement as “an important step in the history of Moroccan sport which shows that with courage, determination, and an iron will, anything is possible.”
In addition to his participation in numerous sporting events, including the Marathon des Sables three times (twice in Morocco and once in Peru), the Moroccan athlete has taken part in around ten Ironman races, a multi-disciplinary race consisting of 3.8 km of swimming, 180.2 km of cycling and then a marathon (42.195 km running).
But the Enduroman event, which takes place alone and in the form of an extreme triathlon, represents for him “the pinnacle of endurance and perseverance”.
2024-09-02 15:33:37