[VIDEO/PICS] This 64-Year-Old Woman Just Swam 177km From One Country to Another
The endurance swimmer is first to make perilous journey without a shark cage after finishing on Monday afternoon!
By Sadho Ram — 03 Sep 2013, 09:11 AM — Updated almost 11 years ago
This 64-year-old woman is the first swimmer to cross the Florida Straits without the security of a shark cage
64-year-old Nyad is the first swimmer to cross the Florida Straits without the security of a shark cage. She swimmed 111-mile from Cuba to Key West, Fla
Image via imgur.comShe swimmed 111-mile from Cuba to Key West, Fla. She took 52 hours and 54 minutes to complete the swim
READ: The incredible story of Diana Nyad, a 64-year-old woman, who completed epic swim from one country to another
Nyad came on shore at Florida's Key West shortly before 2pm local time and despite having been in the ocean for about 52 hours managed to walk on to the beach unaided before falling into the arms of a supporter.
theguardian.com
She succeeded in making the 110-mile (180km) journey through treacherous waters, currents and the constant threat of attack from what she once described as "Mother Nature on steroids".
At lunchtime on Monday Nyad, 64, was just a couple of miles off the coast of Florida, her extreme dream finally within her grasp. Though she was said by her team to be "really hurting", she took time out to deliver a euphoric message to her 35-strong support crew.
in.comBefore embarking, Nyad delivered a euphoric message to her 35-strong support crew
She began by saying that she had trouble talking as a result of abrasions in her mouth caused by a silicone mask she has been wearing to protect herself from jellyfish stings and apologised for being hard to understand. Then she said: "I am about to swim my last two miles in the ocean.
theguardian.com
"This is a lifelong dream of mine and I'm very, very glad to be with you. Some on the team are the most intimate friends of my life and some of you I've just met."
"But I'll tell you something, you're a special group. You pulled through; you are pros and have a great heart. So let's get going so we can have a whopping party."
theguardian.com
"I admit there's an ego rush," Nyad said before the swim began. "If I three days from now, four days from now am still somehow bringing the arms up and I see the shore … I am going to have a feeling that no one yet on this planet has ever had."
theguardian.com
After the swim, an exhausted and happy Nyad told reporters, "I got three messages"
"One is we should never, ever give up. Two is you never are too old to chase your dreams. Three is it looks like a solitary sport, but it's a team," she said.
cnn.com
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