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.
Yes thanks Swimosaur, that really spells it out; and "moon shot" seems like an apt comparison. Amazing.
I keep thinking how Nyad had to swim about 7 extra miles over the 103 point-to-point miles because of course corrections. Now, if I was told in the middle of one of my 2500 yd swims, "Oopsie - you got off course just a little bit there, Greg, so you're going to need to make a 7 mile correction to complete your swim today," I'd be disheartened beyond all toleration. But Nyad had to do those 7 miles on top of the minimum 103!
That proves she trained for the worst. She must have trained over four years for this event
I don't care if it's a female suit, I'm getting one. (I naively thought the Speedo "Endurance" suit was going to help me swim longer. That didn't work out; but I'm a lot smarter now and am certain that wearing Diana's suit will do the trick!)
Definitely. I wouldn't believe that's possible until now. She just logged most of my GTD in one solid feat
Was that a customs official inside the circle?
Not that I ever even thought about it before Nyad came (back) on the scene in recent years, but I don't think I would've believed previously that a 64 year old woman could successfully undertake something this strenuous. Of course, even the 50-60 or however many miles she completed on her "failed" attempts over the past few years was incredible - but somehow, because they were "failed" attempts - I managed, like a dope, to brush them aside, put it all out of my mind. But now that she has actually completed her amazing quest, she truly has changed my conception of things in a big way, and indelibly (unless it turns out I'm an even bigger dope than I realize). I truly feel grateful to her.
...her swimsuit looked almost like a "lounge-around-the-pool" type female swimsuit ...
This is the suit she was wearing. One of my teammates has the red/black version.
www.swimoutlet.com/.../17018.htm
Nah, just a cool down. No jellies. No salt water. No waves. How hard could it possibly be? :)
To any of us, it DOES sound insane :afraid: however, to Diana, it will probably be nothing compared to what she just accomplished. You're right; there will be none of the uglies she experienced out in the ocean. In addition to what you listed, there will be no currents and the water temperature will be perfect. Feeding will also be a LOT easier and she won't have to wear a special suit or mask at night to fend off the jellies. Of course, she won't have to worry about sharks either! And, now that I think about it, she won't have to worry about following a line put out by a guide boat. She also won't have to organize kayak escorts or as large of a team of volunteers or doctors.
My guess is that Myrtha will be a sponsor and construct the pool at no cost to Diana and an airline will sponsor her flight out to New York. If I am a nutrition company like Hammer Nutrition, I would jump at the chance to sponsor her feeding needs during the swim. Heck, her suit, goggles, and cap will probably be sponsored, as well.
I sure hope ESPN or SOMEBODY runs a special on this and at least shows the last portion of her swim, so we all can have the opportunity to watch it. And, I hope it brings in heaps of $$$ for the relief fund!
So, should we start a "Guess the Meters Diana Swims in 48 Hours" contest? Sheeesh, knowing my luck pwb will guess it right and I will owe him a third :chug: !
Has USMS requested the official log from Nyad's camp and is that why they are waiting to publish anything on this?This wasn’t a USMS or USA Swimming “sanctioned” Solo Open Water Swim, so I’m not sure what official logs you think USMS needs. There is nothing for either of these national governing bodies to verify or certify.
