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New England

Amputee swims Winnipesaukee

Published on Tuesday, Aug 1, 2006 at 12:12 am | Last updated on Tuesday, Aug 4, 2009 at 5:05 am

ALTON, N.H. (AP) - A Massachusetts man who is missing part of one leg Sunday swam nine miles through Lake Winnipesaukee to raise money for charity.

It took Mike Welsch, 47, six hours to swim from Wolfeboro to Alton Bay. He raised $3,000 for the Jimmy Fund.

This isn't Welsch's first fundraising swim in New Hampshire's longest lake. Last year, Welsch, of Burlington, Mass., became the first amputee to attempt to swim the length of Lake Winnipesaukee, from Alton to Meredith. Choppy water ended that attempt after 16 hours, but Welsch raised more than $5,000 for the Jimmy Fund during that swim.

Welsch lost part of his leg in a motorcycle accident at age 19.

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