Finally U.S. endurance swimmer Diana Nyad completed her swim from Cuba
to Florida becoming the first person to make this swim without the help of a shark cage.
Nyad swam up to the beach just before 2P EST about 53 hours after she began her journey in Havana on Saturday. When she arrived on the beach in Key West Nyad stated,
"I have three messages. One is, we should never, ever give up. Two is, you're never too old to chase your dream. Three is, it looks like a solitary sport, but it is a team." Nyad added, "I have to say, I'm a little bit out of it right now. I just wanted to get out of the sun." Diana gestured toward her swollen lips & simply said "seawater." Her team said she had been slurring her words while she was out in the water. She was on a stretcher on the beach & received an IV before she was taken by ambulance to a hospital. This was her fifth attempt at the 110 mile swim that she completed successfully. Extremely brave for a 64 year old, Nyad first tried the crossing from Cuba in 1978 when she was 28 but failed in the face of winds & heavy waves. Nyad never came out of the closet publicly because she was never in it. She has spoken on the issue of LGBT athletes in sports many times but her focus has always been on sports. Much like Billie Jean King her place as an athlete supersedes her place as a lesbian athlete something many gay people in sports dream of. Diana is a member of the National Women’s Hall of Fame & the International Swimming Hall of Fame. I met Diana years ago in NYC & she’s one of the strongest Alfa women I’ve ever met. Congrats!! Updates to Come...:)
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