Zhang Jian, China's top endurance swimmer, will attempt to swim
across the Yellow River in his latest challenge in open water.
The 41-year-old Zhang is one of the 300 amateur swimmers who
have entered the 2nd Qinghai International Crossing Race, which is
slated for Saturday in Xunhua County in west China's Qinghai
Province.
The route was around 800 meters, according to the event
organizers.
"High altitude, low temperature and high waves are the major
threats to the swimmer," said an official of the organizing
committee.
Zhang, a teacher at Beijing's Sports University, made history in
July 2001 as the first Chinese swimmer to cross the English
Channel.
In 2000, he set a distance swimming record for China when he
crossed the 123-kilometer-wide (76-mile-wide) Bohai Strait off the
country's northeastern coast.
(Xinhua News Agency August 5, 2006)