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
It is a shoulder issue that created her stroke mechanics. She often comes to the pool and swims for eight hour stretches. Quite impressive.
Report from official observer Steven Munatones, posted to DN's blog, confirms that she spent an extended period resting on the boat in the middle of the swim.
Am I the only one who think this is a little silly. It sort of reminds me of all the people who were "climbing" Everest in the late 90's. I do applaud DN for trying. And it is her goal so good for her. But to cover this like it is an athletic achievement is a bit, well, misleading.
It isn't an athletic achievement??? Hmmm... How many people of any age do you think could actually swim that many miles for that many hours? At (almost) 63 years old: :bow: :bow: :bow: :applaud:
Am I the only one who think this is a little silly. It sort of reminds me of all the people who were "climbing" Everest in the late 90's.
I can see where you're coming from and I'm a bit torn. It's not just Diana and a support boat. It's numerous boats including kayaks using an electric current to (hopefully) deter sharks. It's additional personnel in the water to further guard against sharks. It's a special swimsuit and a jellyfish expert in one of the escort boats to help with stings, etc., etc. Still, it's a remarkable physical achievement to be out in the elements for that long and it does take athleticism to swim that far in the open water. That said, I think this should and will be her last attempt. She's certainly given it a good try, but now it's pretty obvious it's just a little beyond what she can do.
It isn't an athletic achievement??? Hmmm... How many people of any age do you think could actually swim that many miles for that many hours? At (almost) 63 years old: :bow: :bow: :bow: :applaud:
No, it's not. Athletic achievements have standards of conduct that allow others to assess what is being achieved. It is unclear what (if any) standards of conduct Diana was following in this event. Certainly NOT the standards of an "unassisted marathon swim," which is how she was representing this to the media.
Giving her a pass because she's 63 years old is condescending and disrespectful to senior citizens. Lois Nochman doesn't get to pull on the laneline in backstroke because she's 87 years old - and I'm sure she wouldn't want to even if she could.
This event certainly required courage, and perhaps a certain amount of swimming skill, but it would be properly categorized as a "stunt," not an athletic achievement. A stunt tainted by deceptive media practices.
Giving her a pass because she's 63 years old is condescending and disrespectful to senior citizens.
No, I did not give her a pass; I wasn't being condescending or disrespectful to seniors at all. I think you were reading way too much into what I wrote (and intended).
What I think, regardless of the circumstances, is that swimming that many hours and that many miles is an amazing athletic (physically and mentally; standards aside) achievement for anybody; especially a 62 (almost 63) year old! The definition of "athletic achievement" is all yours; not mine. I personally define "athletic achievement" based on what somebody accomplishes, regardless of any standards. Call it a "stunt", call it whatever you would like. But, the fact remains that she swam for a total of 41 hours and 45 minutes (according to her blog) and over 46 miles (I can't find the final figure in her blog). If you take those statistics alone and leave "standards" out of it, that is nothing short of amazing.
P.S. I am 50 years old which qualifies me as a card-carrying AARP SENIOR. And, I have competed in Senior Games. :D See the attached photo; I am sitting next to my swimming idol; my 95 year old teammate! :banana:
No one can make any kind of swim unless the conditions are right.
And I think to complete this swim conditions need to be darn near perfect. It's 103 miles as the crow flies. She's not a fast swimmer and averages about two miles per hour. So even if she could somehow swim in a straight line it would mean about 50 hours in the water.
Am I the only one who think this is a little silly. It sort of reminds me of all the people who were "climbing" Everest in the late 90's.
when you say "in the late 90's" do you mean "every spring?"
www.npr.org/.../maybe-everest-needs-a-traffic-cop-at-least-four-climbers-dead
Diana Nyad attempted something that's never been done. I don't see much similarity with the herds on Everest.
