Diana Nyad: Extreme Dream

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.
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    Peak velocity of the Gulf Stream is about 5.6 mph.
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    ... I give her major props for trying and for making it as far as she did. I for one am still impressed.:bow: Same here, I kept thinking; "I slept all night and she was swimming", "I ate breakfast, went to work, had lunch, kept working, finished my work day; and she's still swimming", "I'm getting ready for bed... and SHE"S STILL SWIMMING". An unbelievable accomplishment.
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    Maybe she really did finish it, but the govt doesn't want the cubans to know that its possible, so they're just saying she didn't. Ya think? :agree: ;)
  • I can't even imagine doing a 24-hour warm-up swim during her training! One wonders if she had to "taper" (aka rest) a few weeks prior to taking this on.
  • I think ideal conditions are rare; her team thought that they'd hit upon them, but apparently, they were mistaken. I would guess with all the preparation that is involved, she might have to wait until next year to try again. Also it is very expensive, both to try the actual swim, and to sustain the training. I shudder to think how much it costs. The green eyeshade guys will have much to say about another attempt.
  • In this whole discussion I think Susie Maroney is getting short shrift. She swam from Cuba to the U.S. in 1997. She did use a shark tank, but still a pretty amazing swim.
  • When I checked on the CNN near-real-time tracker (Monday evening, I think) I saw that her course out of Havana veered pretty strongly to the east. She wasn't headed for Key West. I figure she was in some difficulty by that point since she appeared to be so far off-course.
  • Former Member
    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. great to see Morty pop in for a history lesson!
  • In this whole discussion I think Susie Maroney is getting short shrift. She swam from Cuba to the U.S. in 1997. She did use a shark tank, but still a pretty amazing swim. In the articles that I read about the swim, Susie Maroney was mentioned. I think people saw Diana's swim as significant because of her age and because of the lack of shark tank. Of course, this doesn't diminish Susie's amazing achievement, but we can celebrate both women, yes?
  • She may not be giving up... "What I said right afterward is not necessarily true," she says. "You've got me a week later. Right after, it would be like talking to a boxer on the canvas, still on his back and looking up at the bright lights. Now, I do not feel at peace the way this ended." Link: Diana Nyad won't let her dream flounder Woo hoo! Give it another shot, Diana! We're all still here cheering for you!
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