Diana Nyad Has Now Swum Further Than On Any Previous Cuba To Florida Swim
Diana Nyad has now swum further north than on any of her previous attempts to swim from Cuba to Florida. That’s the exciting news released on her Facebook page by her social media team around 4:30 PM EDT on Sunday afternoon.
Her website said that by 4 PM on Sunday Nyad had officially swum 63.25 statute miles.
The 64-year-old endurance swimmer has made four previous tries to cross the Florida Strait. Her first attempt goes all the way back to 1978, when stiff seas forced her to stop halfway.
She tried twice in 2011, but jellyfish attacks in the warm Caribbean waters crushed both of those attempts.
Her most recent try was in 2012 — and, once again, she had to be pulled from the water as a result of multiple jellyfish stings combined with exhaustion.
For her fifth and final try, Diana Nyad is using a full body suit and a special mask to protect her against the stings.
According to her updates from her social media team, the custom designed suit could be working.
At her 1 PM feeding, Nyad did mention feeling some pressure in her lungs. As you can see in the top photo, the doctors were called over to check her out while she continued to swim.
Her health checked out fine, with normal blood pressure and clear lungs.
But her team confessed in her blog that the Cuba to Florida swim was starting to become something of a slog after 28 hours. “Isn’t this a beautiful day?” she said to one of the shark divers who joined her in the water. “I’m not enjoying it much. I wish I were.”
She is well over halfway the total distance of 103 miles. If she makes it, and her chances now look good, Diana Nyad will be the first person to finish the swim across the Florida Straits without a shark cage.
