Yesterday, we told you the extraordinary story of 61-year-old Diana Nyad, who had begun a 103-mile swim from Cuba to Florida in attempts to be the first recorded person to make the swim without using a shark cage. Unfortunately, Nyad was forced to abandon her journey after 29 hours in the water – about halfway through the trip.

Nyad was vomiting when she was brought aboard a boat at 12:45 a.m. last night. She had struggled through ocean swells, should pain, and asthma all day Monday before she was forced to give up the 103-mile swim.

“I’m not sad. It was absolutely the right call,” Nyad said.

Nyad’s team said that strong winds and less than ideal currents played a part in the decision. “Earlier in the evening, she was surrounded by dolphins and a beautiful Caribbean sunset. But strong currents blew her 15mph off course,” her team posted on her Twitter account.

This was Nyad’s second attempt at the swim – she first attempted the trip in 1978, but was unable to finish.

Nyad had been training for this for two years, swimming up to twelve hours a day. A team of more than 30 people supported Nyad as she attempted the Cuba-to-Florida crossing – including ten handlers to advise her as she swam, ocean kayakers towing shark-repelling devices, and divers and safety officers trained to distract sharks that were not repelled.

source

photo: AP

Tags: diana nyad, cuba, florida, swimming, 103 miles
Categories: Sports