Record-breaking Atlantic row for veteran who lost leg in blast
AN ARMY veteran and Invictus Games gold medallist whose leg was blown off while serving in Afghanistan has rowed his name into the record books.
Jordan Beecher, a former Lance Corporal in the Parachute Regiment, defied life-changing injury to link up with his friend Captain Jon Armstrong to become the fastest pair to complete an Atlantic crossing.
They pulled into Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua, in the Caribbean, 37 days, eight hours and eight minutes after leaving La Gomera in the Canary Islands for the start of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, dubbed the world’s toughest rowing race.
The pair, who first met in the back of a Land Rover as new-recruit Paratroopers on a military exercise on Salisbury Plain, braved 40ft waves, pressure sores and hallucinations to complete the 3,000-mile journey
The Row2Recovery team shaved almost whole three days off the previous record.
Speaking as they took their first steps on dry land in more than a month, L/Cpl Beecher, 29, from St Albans, credited their team spirit with helping them get through the race.
He said: “I found out in the first week that Jon doesn’t like rowing in the dark, and seeing Jon going out in the dark every night and having the courage to do it even though he didn’t like it, that was a big thing for me.
“Today my leg has fused – it’s now useless. But it lasted until today. When I was blown up, for the first few months I was on loads of drugs so I don’t really remember it.
“This (the race) was very different. The hardest bit was getting to the start line.“