China's marathon man in longest lake swim
By Wang Xiang |
August 11, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE first Chinese person to swim the English Channel collected another honor yesterday by swimming 36.5 hours non-stop across Khanka Lake on the China-Russia border.
Zhang Jian, a professor in Beijing Sport University and veteran marathon swimmer, started his latest odyssey on Sunday morning and reached the other side of the lake at 8pm yesterday.
The 46-year-old is the first man to have swum such a long distance, 69 kilometers, in an open freshwater lake, Xinhua news agency said yesterday.
Khanka Lake is a transboundary freshwater lake and Zhang made his crossing along the Chinese side of the border.
Several boats were assisting Zhang's adventure, mostly lighting his way at night.
The water of the lake became cold several hours after Zhang started as it was raining. The wind was strong, too, and Zhang had to deviate from his original route. Yet he finished the challenge more than three hours earlier than his estimated 40 hours.
About 1,000 of Zhang's supporters swam with him when he started his journey. They turned back after 888 meters and left Zhang to face the challenge alone.
Zhang began his adventures as a marathon swimmer in 1988, when he swam across the Qiongzhou Strait in less than 10 hours.
He became famous across the country when he completed a 12-hour swim across the English Channel in 2001.
He convened an amateur marathon swimming team named after him in 2005.
The team has conquered many rivers and lakes.
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