Do you know what some students in Venezuela do in their summer holiday? Some of them will go to watch a swimming contest(竞赛). Hundreds of players including some students swim across the Orinoco River. It is a test of action, quality and power. The contest is held in the Orinoco River and it is one of the longest rivers in South America. The contest is held every year and has become a tradition（传统） in Venezuela.
About 900 people signed up for it and 805 took part in it this year. The players had to swim across the muddy water of the Orinoco.
805 men and women entered（参加） the 3.1-kilometre contest, and 520 of them reached the end after fighting the current of the river. Others were pushed too far by the waves and had to be picked up by boats.
Swimmers said the fast moving waves made the event difficult. "Just getting across is a challenge (挑战)," said Rene Alvarez, a 41-year-old player who joined in the contest for the fifth time and finished to be the second in his age class.
"I like it because it's an event（赛事）that's never the same. Sometimes the river was gentle and it was not so hard to get across. But this year the Orinoco was very, very strong," Alvarez said. "Since it depends a lot on the current, there are a lot of strategies included."