Amputee swimmer breaks two Guinness World Records. Watch video

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Last week, the 31-year-old Egyptian swam a distance of 56.48 metres (185 ft and 4in) with one breath and using a fin he swam a distance of 76.7 metres (251 ft and 7.68 in).

“Having my name written in history i feel…I feel empty! nothing beats the Journey. Enjoyed every cold windy day in the pool. Enjoyed after midnight training sessions. Enjoyed the friendships and the unconditional love I saw in the eyes of my friends, family and coaches. Still hungry for more! For tougher More Dangerous And crazier adventures to come Forever adrenaline junkie,” Hegazy wrote on Instagram while sharing photographs of his feat.

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A post shared by Omar Hegazy l عمر حجازي (@hegazyhimself)

A former banker in the Sinai Peninsula, Hegazy met with an accident in 2015 while riding his motorcycle and driving over a road pit. He was thrown beneath a moving truck and lost his leg at the age of 25. His left leg was amputated and a prosthetic leg was fixed.

“At that moment, I didn’t know if I was dead or alive,” Hegazy was quoted as saying by GWR. “My mental health was collapsing dramatically and I started to have an identity crisis. I didn’t know what I was capable of,” he said.

He drew inspiration from amputee sportspersons Dareen Barbar, who broke GWR for the longest Samson’s chair/static wall sit (female), and Faisal Al Mosawi, the world record holder for the fastest 10-kilometre scuba diving. “My source of motivation, in the beginning, was that I do not have much left to lose. I only got into swimming because I was very angry. I found a way to I let out my anger and frustration, but it was also where I felt really free and capable,” he told GWR.

Hegazy has also swum across the Aqaba Gulf, climbed a mountain, and cycled from Taba in the Sinai Peninsula to the pyramids in Giza.