Braxton Bilbrey
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Braxton Bilbrey is the youngest person to ever swim across the San Francisco Bay, from Alcatraz to San Francisco's Aquatic Park in water that was in the mid fifties. Braxton successfully attempted the 1.4 mile swim at 08:28 PDT on Monday, May 22, 2006, at the age of seven years old; he wore a wetsuit. It took him 47 minutes. He was accompanied on the swim by his coach and two other strong swimmers.
When he arrived at the finish of the swim at Aquatic Park, Braxton was greeted by the press and fans, he remarked, "I think it's pretty cool." He also stated that his next ambition was to swim across the English Channel. His mother Stacey was originally not very enthusiastic about her son's dream, but she later changed her mind, "For a 7-year-old to be that motivated and stick with a goal that long is amazing," she stated. His coach Joe Zemaitis was very happy about his student's achievement, "He looked so strong. He did so awesome. I'm so proud of him," he said.
Braxton lives in Glendale, Arizona. He has been swimming since the young age of three because of his parents' concern about drowning and the plethora and accessibility of pools in the area he lives. He completed this swim to raise money and awareness for drowning prevention, the very reason his parents' had him learn to swim early on. Braxton first came up with the idea after hearing of the successful swim by 9-year-old Johnny Wilson. Braxton has completed multiple youth triathlons, and trained two hours a day, four days a week in preparation for his swim. He stands a little over 4 feet tall and weighs 65 pounds.
