WHILE the British are bracing for hot sunny weather this week, Zahra Ma'soumah Abdul Halim will be bracing for her biggest challenge yet - swimming across the English Channel non-stop.

If the swim on July 2 goes well, she is set to become the first Malaysian woman to achieve this feat at the age of 17.

Zahra, who arrived in Britain a month ago, is scheduled to make the historic swim at 2am local time  (Malaysia 9am) from Shakespeare beach, Dover in England to Calais, France.

Zahra said it is her dream to conquer the 34km wide channel, just like all long-distance swimmers.

"To me, it completes your swimming feat. The level of endurance is high and it tests your physical and  mental abilities to the limits," she said.

Three days before her biggest swim challenge Zahra confesses that the stress is mounting. But she is prepared mentally, physically, and most of all spiritually.

The former SMK Convent Ipoh student said she is pleased with her physical progress especially the 7-hour non-stop training in Dover yesterday.

"I have very strong support and encouragement from my family. My parents and my four younger sibling are here with me. We pray for my strength and for good weather, wind and sea conditions."

When asked why she is doing the gruelling challenge, Zahra said: "I am doing it for God, country and family that has given me so much support. I am also doing it for everyone who believes in me."

Zahra said only God can determine the sea conditions, while she can only do her best. "My target is to finish the swim, to cover the distance. That's my goal."

Strange experience

She told of an experience in 2006 when at Teluk Batik, Lumut, Perak, her father Abdul Halim Abdul Manaf asked her to swim in the sea to acclimatise. Looking at the 200m distance, Zahra laughed and told herself how short the distance was and that she could do it easily and in no time at  all.

But a strange thing happened when she wanted to turn back to shore. "The current kept pushing me back to the sea, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't swim back to shore. I told myself not to panic.

"That very moment I realised that the sea has it's own life. I must never be too proud, too arrogant when swimming in it. I recited some prayers. I swam to a rock and held on to it and then slowly swam back to the shore. I learned my lesson to be spiritually prepared for all my future swims."

Previous feats

In 2006, along with younger brother Salman, they made history when they swam 8.9km from Pangkor island to Lumut. Two years ago, they swam 43km from Langkawi to Kuala Perlis.

Training

From having cold showers to jogging, Zahra's training since arriving in Britain has been rigorous. She has been making steady progress under the watchful eyes of her coach, Arof Omar.

"Yesterday, Zahra was swimming in the harbour for seven hours. She was fine, no shivering. Frankly, she could have swam longer but I didn't want her to overtrain. Today she is resting. She needs to get mentally ready for the swim," said Arof.

He recalled the first few sessions in water when Zahra found herself shaking uncontrollably. Her body can now adapt better to the bitter cold water.

Arof also expressed confidence that she can conquer the channel  in good time.

Giving and receiving Inspiration

"ALL I want to do is to inspire young people to do something positive," says Zahra Ma'soumah Abdul Halim, citing MySpace as her site to contact friends.

"Datuk Nicol David is my idol. She is successful in sports and academics. I aspire to be like her."

Her Ambition

By end of next month, Zahra will be studying at UITM in Shah Alam, Selangor, for a diploma in Sports Science with an ambition to be a sports motivator.

"My ultimate goal is to swim in five continents. I have done the Straits of Malacca. Hopefully this one would do it for Europe. Then its only three continents to go."

Previous swimmers

In 2003, Datuk Abdul Malik Mydin become the first Malaysian to swim across the English Channel. It took him just under 18 hours.

Another Malaysian, Dr Lennard Lee, then a medical student, swam the channel in 2004 for just over 9 hours.

"I am not aiming to beat anyone's record. There are so many people that have put their trust in my challenge."

Dr Lennard spoke to her a couple of weeks ago. "He said I must focus. Ignore the cramps because that is normal and to keep swimming. It's all about mental ability. I must have tremendous mental power to push through the pain barrier and complete the swim."

Next challenge

Zahra who is scheduled to be back in Malaysia on July 8 is already planning her next challenge. Another Malacca Straits swim - from Port Dickson to Sumatra, Indonesia, in August.

"I hope to do it before the fasting month, so I will have to resume training as soon as I am back home."