PORTRAIT - The first Frenchman to have crossed the English Channel back and forth by swimming, in 2020, he has since continued to break records in open water. A form of therapy.
« Eh yes ! The Seal is back. » Barely returned from training in the United States, here he is already solicited by the press. Fitting into Stève Stievenart’s schedule is a major achievement. Fortunately for us, the man is enthusiastic and the appointment is made without delay. The morning of our meeting, the sun is lazy and the fellows are wrapped in warm coats. It’s raining. Near the exit of Calais-Fréthun station (Pas-de-Calais), the one nicknamed “Steve the Seal” sits in shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops. Nobody seems to notice the incongruity of the scene. Few suspect, passing near him, that this big guy of 110 kg became in August 2020, at the age of 43, the first Frenchman to cross the English Channel back and forth by swimming. “The Everest of swimming”, according to the specialists: thirty-five hours in water, algae, fuel oil and schools of jellyfish, without a wetsuit. “I don’t swim fast, but I can…