Diana Nyad Makes Historic Swim From Cuba to Florida, Without a Shark Cage, in Roughly 53 Hours
By Tim Ryan
On her fifth attempt and a whopping 35 years since her first try, long distance swimmer Diana Nyad completed a historic swim from Havana to Key West, amazingly swimming all 110 miles without a shark cage, in turn becoming the first person in history to do so.
The 64-year-old Nyad arrived ashore early Monday afternoon in Key West roughly 53 hours after beginning the swim on Saturday morning. Upon arrival, she said to reporters, “I’m beaming with pride.” Nayad was put on a stretcher to receive medical treatment and taken to a hospital for further evaluation while a crowd of fans cheered her on.
In a word, insane. This woman is 64-years-old. But don’t expect an abundance of celebration over Nayad’s impressive feat. It’s not like she threw down a thunderous dunk over anyone during the 53-hour swim. Perhaps tossing in a pool basketball hoop at the very end of the last mile could’ve served as the final nugget needed to send this story into true highlight-heaving orbit. Maybe next time.
Nyad’s first attempt at the swim came in 1978. She made three more attempts in 2011 and 2012.