Boy to Try Swim From Alcatraz
Posted on: Friday, 4 November 2005, 18:00 CST
By Christine Morente, STAFF WRITER
HILLSBOROUGH -- Sharks and the cold San Francisco Bay water won't keep 9-year-old Johnny Wilson from swimming from Alcatraz to Aquatic Park in San Francisco.
At 7:10 a.m. today, the Hillsborough resident will plunge into the Bay and is expected to become the youngest person to swim the 1.4 mile stretch. If he's successful, he'll not only set a record, but will also raise about $30,000 for the Red Cross Katrina Hurricane Victims Fund.
At 86 pounds, 4-feet 9-inches tall, Wilson has been training for three months. Twice a week, he swims in the Bay. Three times a week, it's at the Aquatic Park pool. He anticipates that it will take him about an hour to do the swim, he said.
"It's not a race," the fourth grader said. "It's to see if I could do it."
On Friday, he trained in the Bay.
"Today was the best," said Wilson who has been swimming for the last seven years. "The waves were 5 feet tall. I think training is hard when you're swimming through the waves, but it's also really fun."
He and his six fourth-grade friends have been gathering pledges for the Red Cross Katrina Hurricane Victims Fund, with donors pledging varying amounts for each quarter of a mile that Wilson swims.
Forecasts predict good conditions for the swim, with no wind and no tidal currents in San Francisco Bay. The water is expected to be 62 degrees. If things change, the next safe time for Wilson to swim won't be until Oct. 24.
His swim coach is Rick Murray, a triathlete and a San Francisco Bay swimmer.
"When I first saw him, I saw a lot of athletic talent," Murray said Friday. "He has a real joy for swimming. A real love for the water. He always wants to swim longer and faster."
Two members from the San Francisco Dolphin Swimming and Boating Club will swim with Wilson. The club will document and acknowledge the record if Wilson succeeds, Murray said.
"Alcatraz is a swim for anyone. It's the Bay," Murray said. "For anyone to do this at any age is a great accomplishment."
Source: Oakland Tribune
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