A seven-year-old Arizona boy successfully completed the 2.2-kilometre swim from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco's Aquatic Park on Monday.

Braxton Bilbrey was accompanied by his coach and two other adults as he swam the chilly tidal waters of San Francisco Bay.

His father scooped him out of the water when he finished the swim as reporters and photographers gathered around.

"I'm so proud of him," Steve Bilbrey said.

"I think it's pretty cool," said Braxton, who has completed several youth triathlons and says he wants to tackle the English Channel next.

Braxton completed the swim in under two hours and will donate any money raised from the event to charity.

A second-grader from Glendale, Ariz., Braxton said he was inspired when a nine-year-old boy made the swim from Alcatraz last year. Johnny Wilson, from Hillsborough, Calif., swam the course in October.

Each year, athletes from around the world swim the distance as part of the annual Escape from Alcatraz triathlon.

Before it was closed in 1963, Alcatraz was home to some of the most notorious criminals in the United States, including legendary mobster Al Capone.



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