USA TODAY International Edition
Realizing her dream
On her fifth attempt, Diana Nyad completes Cuba- to- Florida swim in 53 hours. “Never, ever give up,” 64- year- old
Diana Nyad stepped onto dry sand in Key West on Monday after swimming more than 100 miles through treacherous waters from Cuba, at last achieving a goal she has pursued for 35 years.
“Never, ever give up,” Nyad, 64, said after becoming the first person to swim from Havana to the southernmost point in the continental USA without a protective shark cage.
“You’re never too old to chase your dreams,” she added.
Nyad arrived on U. S. soil 53 hours after she slipped into the warm water at Havana’s Hemingway Marina on Saturday, roughly 110 miles south of the beach where her arrival was greeted with celebration. She set a record for the longest ocean swim without a shark cage or flippers, according to her crew. Nyad succeeded in the solo crossing on her fifth try. She first tried in 1978 and made three other attempts in 2011 and 2012.
“Diana Nyad’s remarkable achievement today is an inspiration to everyone,” tweeted former Florida congressman and MSNBC morning host Joe Scarborough.
Looking a bit dazed and puffy from her ordeal, Nyad made brief remarks, then was put on a stretcher and taken to a hospital. “I’m a little bit out of it right now,” she said. She pointed to her swollen lips: “Seawater.”
“More than the athletic feat, she wants to send a message of peace, love, friendship and happiness ... between the people of the United States and Cuba,” said her longtime friend, Diaz Escrich.
Nyad wore a bodysuit and a silicone mask at night to protect her from jellyfish. She never left the water but would stop to eat. Two miles from shore, Nyad paused and told the five support boats to gather around. “This is a lifelong dream of mine, and I’m very, very glad to be with you,” she said, according to her website.