Rio de Janeiro Nov 21 (IANS) Chapecoense air crash survivor Jackson Follmann has revealed a desire to compete in the Paralympics as a swimmer.
Follmann 25 was one of the six survivors of last November s accident in Colombia which killed 71 people including 19 of his teammates and all of the Brazilian football club s coaching staff reports Xinhua news agency.
"I need more time but I want to swim " Follmann told Brazil s SporTV on Monday.
"It s a great sport because it has low impact. I can t run. At the most I can jog. Swimming could allow me to come back to have a more healthy life. I m anxious to compete again."
Follmann who had the lower half of his right leg amputated has 80 per cent movement in his left ankle which is held together by a six-inch titanium rod and four screws.
He said he still attends Chapecoense s matches and training sessions which goes someway to satisfying his desire to return to competitive sport.
"I can t get used to the idea of being a former sportsperson " he said. "It s still very early to be talking about the Paralympics. I only had surgery six or seven months ago. I need to respect my body because I suffered 13 fractures."
--IANS
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