A 9-year-old boy will attempt to become the youngest person to swim the frigid, shark-infested waters between Alcatraz island and the San Francisco shoreline.
Johnny Wilson, a fourth grader from Hillsborough, will attempt the 1.4-mile swim on Monday just a few weeks before his 10th birthday - and just time to beat the age record set two weeks ago by a 10-year-old girl, said his coach, Rick Murray.
Johnny said he is raising money for Hurricane Katrina victims and has already drummed up $30,000 in donations.
Just after sunrise, Johnny will take a boat out to the infamous prison island, jump off at low tide and swim back in a trip he estimates will take about an hour.
He knows that the swim killed several inmates who drowned in the arctic waters as they tried to escape. The prison closed in 1963 and never officially recorded a successful escape.
Johnny said he has been training in San Francisco Bay to get used to the cold water and now actually enjoys the sensation.
"This is nothing," he said after a practice this week. "This is easy. This is just the way I like it."
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