Diana Nyad’s story is most certainly one for the books. She is the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage. Nyad proved her talent and earned respect when she set the women’s record in the Gulf of Naples race, finishing the race in 8 hours and 11 minutes.
Nyad first dreamed of completing the swim when she was in her twenties. She first attempted the ¨impossible¨ swim from Cuba to Florida in 1975, where after eight hours of nonstop swimming she was pulled from the water due to intense waves. She took a huge break after her first attempt and did not try the swim again until 2011, 33 years later. In this second attempt, she spent 29 hours in the ocean before she was taken out due to dangerous winds throwing her 15 miles off course. While everyone around Nyad was amazed and proud, she knew that she could do better and was ready to work hard to do it again.
Nyad attempted the swim again one month later, and was in the water for 41 hours but was forced to end it due to severe jellyfish stings after currents pushed her off course. Nyad spoke during a TedTalk about how the severe stings from a Box Jellyfish on her forearms and neck caused respiratory issues that eventually led to the end of the swim. Almost a year later, Nayd was in the water again. After breaking her previous three distances, she was pulled from the water again due to two severe storms and nine Box Jellyfish stings.
Nyad’s final attempt was over a year later when she entered the waters for the final time on August 31, 2013. By this fifth attempt, Nyad had a team of 35 people. After learning from previous swims, she was protected by a jellyfish-proof silicone mask, full bodysuit, gloves and a pair of booties. She was also using an electronic device to repel sharks that worked by producing sounds that gave sharks temporary muscle spasms when they got too close.
On September 2, 2013, at approximately 1:55 pm EDT, Nyad’s feet touched solid ground for the first time in 53 hours on the beach of Key West, Florida.
While no one can doubt the accomplishments of Diana Nyad, she was not a one-woman team. One of Nyad’s biggest supporters was her swimming coach Bonnie Stoll. Not only did they share a bond over their roles as coach and swimmer, but they were also a huge part of each other’s personal life and were best friends. During the times when the swims got too dangerous, Stoll was the one who was there to pull Nyad out of the water. She stayed at the edge of the boat as close to Nyad as she could be during all of her swims. The two had a temporary split in their partnership between Nyad’s fourth and fifth swim when Stoll did not want her to attempt it again after the severe jellyfish stings Nyad had incurred, but this was rectified by the fifth swim. Even though they did not agree on everything that Nyad did, Stoll was still Nyad’s number one supporter and when the time came for the final swim, Stoll was there.
Many people have tried to disprove Diana Nyad’s accomplishments due to the lack of details on her swimming records. The lack of details eventually led to The Guinness Book of World Records revoking her achievements. In September of 2023, the World Open Water Swimming Association renewed their investigation into Nyad’s swim, but voted against certifying it, saying that the rules Nyad followed during her swim were different from their own.
Nyad’s response was that this was,”the ultimate absurdity because in 2013 there were no auspices of the sport that performed ratifications. They didn’t exist. Our team did what we thought was absolutely fair and square to swim shore to shore never exiting the water, never touching the boat or kayak, never holding on or being propelled forward.”
Because Nyad’s swim was not certified, some people do not view her as the skilled swimmer she is, but she knows what they say cannot take away her accomplishments, stating, “I’m human, I don’t like being talked about negatively. But in terms of how it makes me feel-I am proud of who I am as a human being. We did that swim, and nobody can ever take it away from us.”
If you are interested in learning more about Nyads story you can learn more here.
