Holy bejeezus ...
Diana Nyad: I broke many records in my prime as a long-distance swimmer back in the 1970’s, in my twenties. For my world record—102.5 continuous miles from the Bahamas to Florida in 1979—and other swims, such as breaking the 50-year-old mark for circling Manhattan Island ... Yet my dream of swimming from Cuba to Florida was dashed in 1978, after fighting stiff winds and huge seas for 41hrs, 49 mins, and still not reaching the Florida coast ...
... Until a year ago, I hadn’t swum a stroke for 31 years. Swimmer’s burnout gripped me to the point that I could have sworn I would never, ever swim a lap again in my life. But approaching 60 last year threw me into the existential angst of wondering what I had done with my life ... I started swimming a few laps, just to take some pressure off the knees from all the other activities I enjoy.
My workouts escalated. My motivation started to burn like a fire in my soul. One day I was driving, after a long swim, and I stopped and looked hard in the rearview mirror. And I said to myself: This is one dream I actually could go back and achieve. At 60, I could swim from Cuba to Florida. This time, without a shark cage.
But first, a little warmup swim ...
AboutDiana: On July 10th, at the age of 60, legendary open-water swimmer Diana Nyad will attempt to complete her first marathon swim in over 30 years. Nyad's triumphant return to long-distance swimming till take her 50 miles off the Florida Coast to begin a consecutive 24-hour swim through the Gulf Stream's open-water and back to the Florida shoreline, without a shark cage.
CNN Health: Diana Nyad chases a dream
Diana's Website
Wow.
Wow.
Wow is right! :afraid: But, I must say, I was very intrigued when I heard about this and turned to my husband and said, "I will following THIS swim!"
I was (and still am) a big fan of Lynn Cox, an OW distance swimmer who broke all sorts of amazing swim records, from swimming up in the Arctic to swimming the English Channel. I grew up on the beach, in Long Beach, California, watching her do her ocean swims and run for miles in the soft sand, when she was just a young teenager and I was a kid. I always admired her and loved the two books she wrote about her experiences. I treasure my autographed copies.
I remember Diana Nyad, too, because I was on the high school swim team when she was in her prime. I always wondered what happened to her... Now I know and I'm excited! Go Diana!! :cheerleader:
Yay, Diana. My idol. I remember being a young mother with an unsupportive husband and all my dreams on hold, following Diana's fisrt woman around Manhattan swim.
On July 10th, at the age of 60, legendary open-water swimmer Diana Nyad will attempt to complete her first marathon swim in over 30 years. Nyad's triumphant return to long-distance swimming till take her 50 miles off the Florida Coast to begin a consecutive 24-hour swim through the Gulf Stream's open-water and back to the Florida shoreline, without a shark cage.
This morning, from Diana's Twitter Feed:
Diana has made it! She came on board at 8:19 am ET, exactly 24 hours after entering the water! On land by 9:30 am.
So far, so good!
There has been a flurry of updates recently on Diana's blog. Apparently she and her team are stuck in Key West, waiting for approval from the Cuban government to start the swim. In the meantime, the season for favorable weather is quickly drawing to a close.
It would be too bad if her efforts were dashed because of some bureaucratic foot-dragging.
Personally, I kinda wonder about her sanity. Hope she doesn't kill herself in the attempt.
Former Member
Diana Nyad was not the first woman around Manhattan. She has extreme dreams and also has dream like claims.
As head of NYC Swim, the organizer of the Manhattan Island Marathon for the last 17 years, and in the In the interest of historical accuracy, we wanted to correct the record about swims around Manhattan, as some misinformation has circulated as a result of erroneous claims.
Diana Nyad's 1975 swim around the island was not a first. Rather, it was nearly 60 years after that of the first woman to accomplish the feat, Ida Elinosky in 11 hours, 35 minutes (1916). In the intervening years, more than a half-dozen other women also completed the swim, with Anne Priller (Benoit) dropping the women's record to 9:01 in 1930. Sam Shields set a men's record (8:35) that year as well.
Nyad's 1975 effort, 45 years after Shields set the record, followed a dry spell, so to speak, when pollution and other factors limited swimming around Manhattan, and her time of 7:57 set the mark for both women and men.. Since then, more than 600 swimmers have circled the island, and the overall record is still held by a woman. Shelley Taylor-Smith of Australia set the mark of 5:45:25 in 1995.
27 Aug. Cuban Visas Approved.
Swim may happen as early as next week.
... from our TEAM meteorologist Dane Clark. Very volatile time of year, hurricanes moving daily across the Atlantic, but also the time when calm seas come in between the storms. Per his email, we may just be looking at a window early to mid week coming.
