In her fifth and final attempt, Diana Nyad accomplished what she and no one else before her was able to do: swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage. On Monday, after 53 hours of swimming, the 64-year-old endurance swimmer did just that.
Published reports show it was the swimmer’s dream since she was eight years old. She had tried to make the trek four other times, her first was in 1978, and had setbacks along the way. Whether it was jellyfish, fatigue, nausea, or storms on the water, Nyad had never had success, that was until Monday.
On Monday, just before 2 p.m. E.T., Nyad made history, and finally succeeded at her childhood dream. Her triumph didn’t come without it’s own set of challenged on this journey, cold overnight waters and swelling proved to be her biggest problems this time around. In her self-proclaimed final attempt, Nyad did it.
At the age of 64, she told reporters this goes to show, “You can dream at any age.”
To see Nyad’s journey and more, click HERE for her website.
