# 61y.o. woman to attempt swim of 100+ miles open ocean from Cuba to Key West **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 20, 2011, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702 "2011-07-20T11:40:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702/1 "2011-07-20T11:40:18Z")
> [@](#): > > She will swim about 60 hours in the churning sea, 103 miles across the Straits of Florida from Cuba to Key West. Every hour and a half, she will stop to tread water for a few minutes as she swallows a liquid mixture of predigested protein and eats an occasional bit of banana or dollop of peanut butter. She will most likely hallucinate and endure the stings of countless jellyfish. Along the way, sea salt will swell her tongue to cartoonish proportions and rub her skin raw. > \ > Her age is 61. Ms. Nyad attempted this swim once before, unsuccessfully, in 1978 at the age of 28. She swam inside a shark cage for 41 hours 49 minutes until the raucous weather and powerful current pushed her far off course and she was forced to give up. She had traveled only 50 miles. (One year later, she swam 102 miles from Bimini, in the Bahamas, to Jupiter, Fla., without a shark cage. She still holds the record for the world’s longest ocean swim.) > This time, armed with better technology and a battered but tough body, she is certain she will make it. “Physically, I am much stronger than I was before, although I was faster in my 20s,” said Ms. Nyad, who looks sturdy enough to defy a linebacker. “I feel strong, powerful, and endurance-wise, I’m fit.” > \ > If Ms. Nyad makes it from Cuba to Key West, she will be the first person to have done so without a shark cage. In 1997, an Australian woman completed the swim inside a shark cage. But with a boat pulling the cage, the swim is easier and faster; the woman completed it in less than 24 hours. > “I’m in uncharted territory,” Ms. Nyad said. [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/health/nutrition/19swim.html?pagewanted=1](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/health/nutrition/19swim.html?pagewanted=1) :eek: That’s pretty damn inspiring, right there. I’ll be rooting for her to make it! ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702/2 "2011-07-20T11:48:20Z")
Go, Diana! I have always enjoyed the fact that this swimmer’s last name is an alternate spelling of the word for [a water nymph](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyad). ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702/3 "2011-07-20T14:25:16Z")
I guess it is good for some reason that escapes me. I don’t know if it is newsworthy. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702/4 "2011-07-20T16:05:46Z")
Diana Nyad is 61?!? Jeez, that makes me feel OLD. Good luck to her. I hope her swim is blissfully free of bulls and whites. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702/5 "2011-07-21T16:45:57Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > I guess it is good for some reason that escapes me. I don’t know if it is newsworthy. Breaking athletic world records is just another day in the life of Cicero, I see. Better this than more Casey Anthony dreg. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702/6 "2011-07-21T18:36:59Z")
My only question is, why? Why is she doing this? Why are people so interested that they’re willing to donate money to this above other causes? What will we learn that we don’t already know? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702/7 "2011-07-21T19:09:52Z")
> [@GilaB](#): > > My only question is, why? Why not? Sometimes it’s good to test your limits. It’s the same reason I ran a marathon last year. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702/8 "2011-07-21T19:38:54Z")
OK, but your marathon running wasn’t front-page news on the Science Times, and presumably you didn’t have a 22-person support team paid for partly by donations and partly by your willingness to go up to $150K in debt. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702/9 "2011-07-21T19:44:13Z")
The marker buoy in Key West says it is 60 miles from Cuba. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702/10 "2011-07-21T20:27:00Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > The marker buoy in Key West says it is 60 miles from Cuba. That would be 90 miles. Of course, that would be to the closest point in Cuba in a straight line, neither of which are applicable to the route she will be taking. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702/11 "2011-07-21T21:10:44Z")
> [@GilaB](#): > > OK, but your marathon running wasn’t front-page news on the Science Times But my marathon wasn’t the longest unaided ocean swim in history. Setting records is news; people like it when people push beyond what is normally considered the limit of the human body and mind. And the story is even better when the person attempting to set the record is a 61 year old woman who has been in the public eye for the past 35 years. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702/12 "2011-07-22T03:01:34Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > That would be 90 miles. Of course, that would be to the closest point in Cuba in a straight line, neither of which are applicable to the route she will be taking. Shit. I have been to Key West 15 times and got that wrong. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702/13 "2013-09-02T16:28:23Z")
Bumping for update (Bumpdate?): Well, she’s 64 now and she has said that this would be her final attempt, and without wanting to jinx her, it looks a lot like she’s going to finally make it! The most recent [update on her website](http://www.diananyad.com/)from a little less than an hour ago said that she’s 2 miles away from landfall in the Keys. **Go Go Diane!** ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702/14 "2013-09-02T17:10:45Z")
This is her third attempt isn’t it? Jelly fish stings made her quit twice before IIRC. She’s definitely determined and it looks like she’ll finally make it. Good for her. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702/15 "2013-09-02T17:24:41Z")
GO DIANA GO! GO DIANA GO! This lady is freaking incredible! ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702/16 "2013-09-02T17:40:46Z")
I have a children’s book titled _100 Greatest Women in Sports_ by Phyllis Hollander, published in 1976. Diana Nyad is in it, and I believe she’s the only one still active on this kind of level. (Although I suppose Billie Jean King or Chris Evert might still play on some kind of seniors tennis tour or something like that.) Still, very impressive. The book notes that “naiad” is a water nymph in Greek mythology. By the way, I’d love for someone to update that book. I found it very inspiring as a girl, but when I reread it I noticed things like a complete lack of soccer players. (Understandable at the time, but now there would be a few of those and a few less figure skaters.) ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702/17 "2013-09-02T17:46:21Z")
she’s masked this time. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702/18 "2013-09-02T17:48:34Z")
Thanks for the update, I had no idea this was happening now. > [@GilaB](#): > > My only question is, why? Why is she doing this? Why are people so interested that they’re willing to donate money to this above other causes? What will we learn that we don’t already know? Having your name forever in the record books, or helping someone try to get their name in the record books, is a powerful incentive for some people. Poor Diana though. I’d bet that there are many who, when they talk about this, will always begin with “The oldest woman to…” so people focus on her age instead of the accomplishment itself, as if younger people do it all the time and it’s not such a big deal. ---
**Author:** ![FeAudrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7feea3/32.png) [@FeAudrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FeAudrey)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702/19 "2013-09-02T18:10:20Z")
Woo-Hoo!!! She made it!!! [http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/09/02/3601292/diana-nyad-in-homestretch-of-record.html](http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/09/02/3601292/diana-nyad-in-homestretch-of-record.html) ---
**Author:** ![Nancarrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@Nancarrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nancarrow)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702/20 "2013-09-02T18:10:30Z")
Aaaaaand she’s done it! [beeb link](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23915203) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/61y-o-woman-to-attempt-swim-of-100-miles-open-ocean-from-cuba-to-key-west/589702.md?page=2)