What a kid!
Boy, 9, Swims From Alcatraz to San Fran
A 9-year-old boy swam the precarious waters between Alcatraz island and the San Francisco shoreline Monday, raising $30,000 in donations for Hurricane Katrina victims.
Johnny Wilson, a fourth grader from Hillsborough, called the swim in the 53-degree San Francisco Bay "tiring" but said he kept telling himself, "I'm almost there, I'm almost there."
"The beginning was the hardest because I was all cold," said the boy, who had practiced swimming in San Francisco Bay to get used to the chilly, choppy water. The waters also are known for sharks.
His classmates were waiting on shore, cheering as he made it to Aquatic Park. "Go, Johnny! Go, Johnny!" the group chanted.
The youth finished the 1.4-mile swim from the infamous prison island in under two hours. He was accompanied by two adult swimmers. Two kayakers followed and a Coast Guard helicopter monitored from above.
The prison closed in 1963 and never officially recorded a successful inmate escape.
