Diana Nyad | |
|---|---|
 Nyad in 2016 | |
| Born | Diana Sneed (1949-08-22)August 22, 1949 (age 76) New York City, New York, U.S.[1] |
| Education | Lake Forest College (BA) New York University |
| Occupation(s) | Author, journalist, swimmer |
| Known for | Championship swimming; endurance swimming; journalism; motivational speaking |
| Website | www.diananyad.com |
Diana Nyad/ˈnaɪˌæd/ (néeSneed; born August 22, 1949) is an American author, journalist,motivational speaker, andlong-distance swimmer.[2] Nyad gained national attention in 1975 when she swam aroundManhattan (28 mi or 45 km) in record time.[3]
She has written four books and articles for various publications, hosted the public radio programThe Savvy Traveler, appeared on the television showsCBS News Sunday Morning andDancing with the Stars, and been a long-time contributor to the public radio programsAll Things Considered andMarketplace.
In 2013, on her fifth attempt and at age 64, she swam fromHavana, Cuba, toKey West, Florida, a journey of 110 mi (180 km), completing the third known swim crossing of theFlorida Straits afterWalter Poenisch in 1978 andSusie Maroney in 1997. Both of those earlier efforts involved ashark cage and, in Poenisch's case, fins and several short rests on his escort craft.[4] Nyad did not use fins or a cage, but did swim with a protective jellyfish suit, shark divers, and electronic shark repellent devices.[5][6] Her crossing from Cuba to Florida was not conducted under the supervision of an organized sporting association, and ratification of the accomplishment was later denied by the World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) for various reasons including incomplete observer logs with a 9-hour undocumented gap in observations, conflicting crew reports, nearly a decade of delay in providing documentation to seek formal ratification, dubious claims about the rules followed for the swim, and "backdated and falsified documentation".[6][7]Guinness World Records initially certified Nyad's achievement, but revoked its certification after considering the findings by WOWSA.[8]
Her 2013 swim and partnership with athlete and businesswomanBonnie Stoll were dramatized in the 2023 filmNyad,[9] based on her 2015 memoirFind a Way.[8][10]
Nyad was born in New York City on August 22, 1949, to Lucy Winslow Curtis (1925–2007)[11] and stockbroker William L. Sneed Jr.[9] Her mother was a great-granddaughter of Charlotte N. Winslow, the inventor ofMrs Winslow's Soothing Syrup, a popular morphine-based medicine for children'steething pain that was manufactured from 1849 until the 1930s.[12] She is also a great-grandniece of women's-rights activistLaura Curtis Bullard.[13]
The Sneeds divorced in 1952, after which Lucy Sneed married a man known as Aristotle Z. Nyad, who later was revealed to be Aris Notaras, an individual with multiple aliases.[14][15] Notaras, who had a complex history involving legal issues and a conviction for smuggling, adopted Diana following the marriage.[16][17][18][1] The family moved toFort Lauderdale, Florida, where she began swimming seriously in seventh grade.
She was enrolled at the privatePine Crest School in the mid-1960s, swimming under the tutelage of Olympian and Hall of Fame coachJack Nelson who, she has said, molested her beginning when she was age 14 and continued until she graduated from high school.[12][19][20] She has also said she learned several years later that another girl who trained under Nelson had also been molested, and said the two of them had brought their accusation to the headmaster of the school, but that no clear action was taken and Nelson resigned at the end of that school year.[21] She won two Florida state high school championships in thebackstroke at 100 yards.[22] She dreamed of swimming in the1968 Summer Olympics, but in 1966 she spent three months in bed withendocarditis, an infection of the heart,[23] and when she began swimming again she had lost speed.
After graduating from Pine Crest School in 1967, she enteredEmory University, but was expelled for jumping from a fourth-floor dormitory window wearing a parachute.[24] She then enrolled at Lake Forest College in Illinois, where she resumed swimming, concentrating on distance events.[25] She soon came to the attention of Buck Dawson, director of theInternational Swimming Hall of Fame in Florida, who introduced her to marathon swimming. She began training at his Girl's Camp "Camp Ak-O-Mak" inMagnetawan, Ontario and set a women's course record of 4 hours and 23 minutes in her first race, a 10-mile (16 km) swim in Lake Ontario in July 1970, finishing 10th overall.[26] After graduating from Lake Forest College in 1973 with a degree in English and French, Nyad then enrolled in a PhD program for Comparative Literature at New York University in 1973 and also pursued her marathon swimming career.
Nyad has written four books:[27]Other Shores (1978) about her life and distance swimming,Basic Training for Women (1981) describing a physical fitness program for women,Boss of Me: The Keyshawn Johnson Story (1999) about NFL wide receiverKeyshawn Johnson, andFind a Way (2015) about her quest to swim across the Florida Straits. She has also written forThe New York Times,[27]Newsweek, and other publications. Nyad and former professional racquetball playerBonnie Stoll formed a company called BravaBody which is aimed at providing online exercise advice to women over 40.[28]
Nyad succeededRudy Maxa as host of the public radio programThe Savvy Traveler, produced byMinnesota Public Radio, in July 2001 and remained host until the show ended in 2004.[29]
Nyad was the subject of a short documentary "Diana" by the digital channel WIGS in 2012.[30][31] As of 2006, she was a (long-time) weekly contributor to theNational Public Radio afternoon news showAll Things Considered (appearing on Thursdays), as well as the "business of sport" commentator for theAmerican Public Media public radio programMarketplace business news. She was also a regular contributor to theCBS News television showSunday Morning.
An analysis of Nyad's ability todissociate during her marathon swims was covered by James W. Pipkin.[32]
The documentary filmThe Other Shore was released in early 2013, some months before Nyad's swim from Cuba to Florida.[33] In her 1978 autobiography, Nyad described marathon swimming as a battle for survival against a brutal foe—the sea—and the only victory possible is to "touch the other shore".
Nyad played in the1979 Women's World Open Squash Championship, where she lost in the first round to Swedish playerKatarina Due-Boje. The same year, she was part ofU.S. national team at theWorld Team Championships. They finished, without winning a match, as 6th.[34][35]
By early January 2010 Nyad began training for a summer attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida, a distance of over 110 miles (180 km) which is the equivalent of five English Channel swims via the Strait of Dover.[41] Taking up residence in the Caribbean island ofSt. Maarten from January through June, she went for 8-, 10-, 12-, and 14-hour-long swims every other week. She then moved her training to Key West and, while waiting for favorable weather conditions, she embarked on a 24-hour swim. On July 10, she reserved a 35-foot fishing vessel to take her 40 miles (64 km) out to sea. At 8:19 AM she jumped overboard and began swimming back towards Key West, with the boat following her. At 8:19 AM the next day her handlers helped her back on board, still about 10 miles (16 km) from land: she said she felt "tired and dehydrated" but still "strong" and "easily able to swim another 20 hours without any problem."[42]
On July 10, 2010, at the age of 60, she began open water training in preparation for a 60-hour, 103-mile (166 km) swim from Cuba to Florida, a task she had failed to accomplish thirty years prior. When asked about her motivation, she answered "Because I'd like to prove to the other 60-year-olds that it is never too late to start your dreams." She was scheduled to make the swim in August/September 2010, but bad weather forced her to cancel; she rescheduled for July 2011.[43][44] In an October 15, 2010, interview with CNN, Nyad said she was trained and would be ready to swim by July 23.[45]
While training in St. Maarten, she sat for an interview that was published March 25, 2011, by the island's online news agency,The Daily Herald, remarking that "It's a large operation, like an expedition. We've got about 25 people, navigators, managers, boat crew, weather routers, medical people, shark experts, you name it. That's the time also when the water starts to get to its hottest. I need the hottest possible ocean. As soon as we hit the right forecast, we'll be off to Havana. We won't know the exact starting point probably until the night before. And we don't know exactly where landfall will be...I'd love to wind up in Key West, but it will depend on trajectory of the Gulf Stream."[46] Nyad estimated that the cost of her "expedition" was about $500,000.[44]
Nyad moved her training site from the Caribbean island of St. Maarten to Key West, Florida in June 2011. She was joined by key members of her support team on June 28, to wait for ideal weather conditions that typically occur only during the summer doldrums in July and August. For the marathon swim to be feasible, two main weather conditions needed to come together at the same time: a combination of low-to-light winds (to minimize sea chop), and water temperatures in the high 80s °F (high 20s/low 30s °C). These relatively "high" water temperatures produce a twin challenge: in the first half of her swim, the warm water would dehydrate her body, while in the second half, her body temperature would drop and she would face potentialhypothermia. Nyad had bulked up her physique to about 150 pounds/70 kg (15 pounds/7 kg more than she weighed in 2010) to help counter the loss of body mass during her grueling swim.
Nyad was to be escorted by a paddler in a kayak equipped with an electronic shark repellent known as aShark Shield.[47][48]
To keep Nyad swimming in a straight line, her specially designed, slow-moving catamaran support boat deployed a 10-foot (3.0 m) streamer: a long pole keeps the streamer several yards away from the boat, and the streamer was designed to remain about 5 feet underwater, so that Nyad can swim above it, much like following a lane line in a swimming pool. At night, the white streamer was replaced by a string of redLED lights.[49] Writing in her blog in July 2011, Nyad stated that the development of the submerged guide streamer, in early summer 2011, may be the single greatest aid to her marathon swim. In all of her previous swims, she had trouble keeping the support boat in sight and was prone to veer off-course. Keeping a boat headed in a straight line, in the ocean, while moving at only 1 to 2 knots is very difficult, and her catamaran was equipped with thrusters and a specialsea anchor (in case of following seas) to stabilize its course.
Several experts who attended the 2011Global Open Water Swimming Conference in New York City on June 17–19, 2011, expressed their strong belief that Nyad had both the physical ability and the positive mental stamina to be able to complete the Cuba-to-Florida swim.[50] However, a record stretch of high winds and dropping water temperatures prevented her from making the attempt at the time.
Thirty-three years after her first attempt in 1978, Nyad entered the water again at Havana on August 7, 2011, at 7:45PM, with a CNN news team on board her support ship to provide live coverage of her swim, which involved electronic "Shark Shields" but no shark cage.[51] Nyad stopped her attempt early in the morning on August 9 at 12:45AM after 29 hours in the water, after encountering strong currents and winds that pushed her miles off course to the east. Nyad also said she had been suffering shoulder pain since her third hour in the water, but what made her abandon the effort was a flare-up of her asthma, such that, throughout the final hour, she could only swim a few strokes before repeatedly having to roll on her back to catch her breath.
On September 23, 2011, Nyad began a third attempt at the Cuba-to-Florida swim, again without a shark cage, but stopped after 41 hours, about 67 nautical miles (124 km) through the 103 nautical miles (191 km) passage, because ofjellyfish andPortuguese man-of-war stings and after currents pushed her off course.[52] Nyad's October 2011TED talk described howbox jellyfish stings on her forearm and neck caused respiratory distress that eventually caused the swim to end.[53]
On August 18, 2012, Nyad began her fourth attempt, without a protective shark cage.[54] Nyad and her team ended the swim at 12:55 a.m. on August 21, 2012, reportedly because of two storms and nine jellyfish stings, after having covered more distance than her three previous attempts.[54]
On the morning of August 31, 2013, Nyad began her fifth bid to swim from Havana, Cuba, to Florida, a distance of about 110 miles (180 km), accompanied by a 35-person support team, swimming without a shark cage[55] but protected from jellyfish by a silicone mask, a full bodysuit, gloves andbooties.[56] She was also accompanied by vessels using electronic 'Shark Shield' deterrent devices, and at times by shark divers.[6] At approximately 1:55 pm EDT on September 2, 2013, Nyad reached the beach in Key West, about 53 hours after she began her journey.[57][56]
While not directly questioning the authenticity of her story, some skeptics, including experienced marathon swimmers, requested the swim's GPS history, surface current, weather, and Nyad's eating and drinking data.[58][59] The swim's published GPS data were analyzed and graphed on September 8 byThe New York Times.[60] After Nyad's September 10 response to questions and her publishing path data and notes from her navigator and two observers, a University of Miami oceanography professor, Tamay Ozgokmen, confirmed the navigator's statement that favorable Gulf Streamcurrents explained Nyad's apparently incredible total velocity during certain portions of the swim.[61] On September 10, 2013, Nyad appeared onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show explaining that while she swims she remembersStephen Hawking books, sings, counts numbers, and has vivid hallucinations ofThe Wizard of Oz and the yellow brick road.[62] On September 12, 2013, Nyad said, "We swam fair and square, squeaky clean across that thing".[63]TheNew York Times public editor observed on September 19 that the focus had shifted from serious questions about possibly resting aboard a boat, to more technical issues relating to whether her crew members touching her, and her wearing a protective suit, rendered the swim "assisted".[64] Nyad has expressed her belief that wearing the jellyfish-protection suit was a life-and-death measure that for her superseded the traditions of the sport.[61]
Her crossing from Cuba to Florida has never been formally ratified due to the lack of independent observers and incomplete records. In 2022 the World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) issued a comprehensive report, updated in 2023, amassing a trove of information available detailing Nyad's 2013 crossing.[6] In September 2023, WOWSA renewed an investigation into her 2013 swim and once again declined to certify the swim. This further investigation considered assertions and documentation purporting that the swim had been completed using the rules and procedures of an organization called the Florida Straits Open Water Swimming Association (FSOWSA), but the organization and its alleged rules did not exist at the time of the swim. Additionally, the observer logs for the swim were incomplete, with over 9 hours of the critical overnight period undocumented, and there were conflicting accounts from crew members regarding events that transpired during these hours.[7]Guinness World Records revoked their initial recognition of Nyad's swim as a certified world record.[8]
From October 8 to 10, 2013, Nyad participated in "Swim for Relief" by doing a 48-hour continuous swim in New York City'sHerald Square in a specially constructed, 120-foot long, two lane pool.[65] It raised $105,001.00[66] forAmeriCares to benefit the victims ofHurricane Sandy.[27][65]
On March 4, 2014, Nyad was announced as one of the celebrities to compete on the18th season ofDancing with the Stars, in which she finished in last place. She was partnered with professional dancerHenry Byalikov.[67]
| Week # | Dance/song | Judges' score | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inaba | Goodman | Tonioli | |||
| 1 | Foxtrot / "Beyond the Sea" | 6 | 6 | 6 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Cha-cha-cha / "Move Your Feet" | no score given | Eliminated | ||
In 1989, Nyad was a guest correspondent on an episode ofUnsolved Mysteries aboutAlcatraz. She assisted on a segment that detailed real-life, current reenactments of both kayakers and a swimmer attempting to traverse San Francisco Bay.[68]
Nyad appeared in theMacy Gray music video for the song "Bang, Bang" in 2014.[69]
Also in 2014, Nyad performed asolo play (which she had also written) calledOnward – The Diana Nyad story, which premiered that year at the NoHo Arts Centre Theater in Los Angeles, directed byJosh Ravetch.[70][71]
As discussed above, Nyad's 2013 crossing from Cuba to Florida has never been formally ratified due to the lack of independent observers, incomplete records, and other irregularities. WOWSA issued extensive reports on the matter, andGuinness World Records revoked its initial certification of the swim as a world record.[72][8]
In September 2023, WOWSA renewed its investigation into her swim and again declined to certify it. Remarking on the upcoming release of a film that dramatizes the event, WOWSA said "It is important for viewers to understand that this film is based on Diana Nyad's book, which has not been rigorously fact-checked."[73][8] WOWSA was also critical of actions previously taken by Steven Munatones, the former owner and founder of WOWSA, saying "His shifting roles have contributed to a decade-long controversy surrounding Nyad's swim".[8]
Retired marathon swimmer Daniel Slosberg accused Nyad of having a long history of embellishing her own accomplishments, often in such a way as to overshadow other swimmers.[74] In 2023 she responded by admitting to theLos Angeles Times: "Am I embarrassed to have inflated my own record when my record is pretty good on its own? Yes, it makes me cringe." She further said that "I thought we had provided all the proof we needed. And maybe I had too much hubris, like, 'I don’t need to prove this to anybody.' That’s my bad. But it wasn’t to obfuscate the rules. We were never told, 'You’ve got to do this or you won't be ratified'".[75]
Nyad was inducted into the United States National Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1986. She is also anInternational Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Honoree (1978) and an ISHOF Al Schoenfield Media Award recipient (2002).[76] She is a Hall of Famer at her Lake Forest College in Illinois and atPine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale.[9][77]
2014
2015
Nyad is a lesbian and has been open about her sexual orientation in numerous magazine articles and interviews.
Nyad has said that overcoming her childhood sexual abuse was a factor in her determination while swimming,[86][87][88][89] and she has spoken publicly about this issue.[90][19]
Annette Bening portrayed Nyad in 2023'sNyad,[9] directed byElizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi andJimmy Chin. When questioned in relation to the accuracy and controversy surrounding Nyad's Cuba-to-Florida swim, Vasarhelyi responded "Our film is not about a record [...] It's about how a woman woke up at 60 and realized she wasn't finished, even though the world may be finished with her."[91] Bening was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Nyad.[92]
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