He had to undergo stomach surgery and because of a failure during the spinal anaesthesia he had to be treated in a medical ventilator and this finally led to him being paralysed from the waist down.

But, in 2002, when a close friend made a bet with him that he would swim the vansbrosimmet an annual 3 km event in a river, his life took a turn for the better.

His favorite event is the 400 m freestyle, a distance he was undefeated at and where he is the current world record holder.

In 2005 he managed to complete the 90 km long Vasaloppet a crosscountry skiing competition, using a sled.

[2] In the 2012 Paralympics he won silver in the 400m freestyle, the first time he had been beaten in this event in a major international competition.