Shenzhen students Guo Siyu and Hu Congtai left their homes in Futian District for Haikou on Tuesday planning to swim across the Qiongzhou Strait in South China Sea together Thursday.

The seven-year-old girl Guo is from Futian Free Trade Zone Primary School, and the nine-year-old boy Hu is from Shenzhen Primary School.

The two cousins aim to break the Guinness World Record as the youngest swimmers to cross the Qiongzhou Strait.

The record is currently held by Wang Yiyan, a girl from Beijing who crossed the strait Aug. 18, 2003 when she was 10 years old.

Guo told her father that she wanted to break Wang’s record after learning Wang’s story. When her cousin Hu learned about her idea, he asked if he could join in the attempt. The parents of both children were very supportive of their plan.

Guo and Hu began to learn how to swim in the same class in August 2003. In December last year, they started getting regular training from two professional coaches.

Beginning April 16, Guo and Hu had flown five times to Haikou, the capital city of Hainan Province, to receive training under the guidance of the Haikou Swimming Association to adapt to the sea water in the strait.

During their last training May 21, they swam about 20 kilometers in seven hours in the strait. The shortest distance across the strait is 21 kilometers.

To succeed Thursday, the two children will swim about 25 kilometers in about 10 hours, starting in the waters in Xuwen County of Guangdong Province and ending in Haikou.

More than four adult swimmers and six escort ships will accompany them to ensure their safety.

(Shenzhen Daily June 1, 2005)