Dad bribes 9 year old with $200 to swim to Alcatraz

A 9-year-old boy became the youngest person to swim to Alcatraz Island and back when he successfully completed the trip Tuesday.

James Savage was in the water for a little over two hours, beginning the swim to the former prison over a mile away at 7 a.m. He said he began to struggle about 30 minutes into the swim in the San Francisco Bay when big waves were hitting him, but his coach and father were there to cheer him on.

"I wanted to turn back and they kept yelling, ‘I believe in you, you can do it,'" Savage said.

Aside from setting a record as the youngest person to complete the feat, the 9 year old had another incentive to finish: a promise of $100 from his dad. When he began to struggle, his father upped the sweet reward to $200.

This story was originally published June 15, 2016 at 3:42 PM with the headline "Dad bribes 9 year old with $200 to swim to Alcatraz."