At 64, Diana Nyad achieved the unthinkable: a 110-mile swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage, becoming the first to ever do so. A lifelong endurance athlete, she spent decades defying limits with unshakable resolve. Her 2013 crossing was hailed as a triumph of human spirit—until quiet doubts began to ripple beneath the surface.
An Unconventional Childhood
Diana Nyad was born in New York City in 1949, the daughter of Lucy Curtis and stockbroker William Sneed Jr. Their marriage didn’t last long.
After the divorce, Diana’s mother remarried a mysterious man who went by Aristotle Z. Nyad. He later adopted Diana, giving her the last name the world would come to know.
The family moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where Diana found her first real love—swimming. By seventh grade, she was already diving headfirst into the sport.
A Dream Born Just Over the Horizon
For Diana, growing up in Fort Lauderdale meant constantly reading headlines buzzed with talk of the Cuban Revolution and waves of political refugees.
When she was 9, curious about the nearby island, she asked her mother why she couldn’t see Cuba from the Florida shore. “It’s just over the horizon,” her mother told her, “close enough to swim to”.
That idea stuck. “Somewhere in my being, that was the most important swim to me personally,” Nyad would later say to Times Magazine in 2023.
Making Waves Early
By the time Diana turned 10, swimming had gone from a hobby to a serious pursuit. She began competing and quickly stood out in the pool.
Enrolled at Pine Crest School in the mid-1960s, Diana trained under renowned Olympic swimmer and Hall of Fame coach Jack Nelson. The program was intense, and so was Diana.
With a mix of talent and discipline, she won two Florida state high school championships in the 100-yard backstroke. She wasn’t just passionate—she was powerful.
A Rocky Road
Diana had her sights set on the 1968 Summer Olympics, a dream well within reach for the rising backstroke star. But sadly, things took a sharp turn.
In 1966, she was sidelined by endocarditis, a serious heart infection that left her bedridden for three months. When she returned to the pool, her speed had vanished.
Then came another detour. After graduating from Pine Crest, she enrolled at Emory University but was expelled for jumping out of a fourth-floor dorm window wearing a parachute. Her swimming career suddenly became uncertain.
A New Obsession
After a rocky chapter, Diana Nyad enrolled at Lake Forest College in Illinois and got back in the pool—this time focusing on long-distance swimming.
Her endurance and focus caught the eye of Buck Dawson, director of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He was the one who introduced her to the grueling sport of marathon swimming.
Nyad dove in—literally. Training at Camp Ak-O-Mak in Ontario, she shattered the women’s course record in her first 10-mile race in Lake Ontario, clocking 4 hours and 23 minutes. A new path had begun.
Water Was Calling
After earning her degree in English and French from Lake Forest College in 1973, Diana stood at a crossroads—academia or the open water.
She briefly enrolled in a PhD program for Comparative Literature at NYU, but her heart was already drifting elsewhere. The thrill of marathon swimming was calling.
With new confidence and growing experience, Nyad began dedicating herself more seriously to the sport. What came next would define her legacy and push the limits of human endurance.
Her First Big Splash
At just 24 years old, Nyad made headlines with a bold performance that signaled she was a force in the world of endurance swimming.
In June 1974, she competed in a 22-mile race across the Gulf of Naples—a grueling test of stamina and mental strength. She didn’t just finish it.
Diana set a new women’s course record, completing the swim in 8 hours and 11 minutes. It was her first major international achievement—and a powerful sign of what would come.
The Swim That Made Her a Star
At 26, Diana Nyad cemented her status as a rising legend by conquering one of the most iconic urban swims in the world—Manhattan Island.
She circled the city’s 28-mile perimeter in just under eight hours, breaking a 48-year-old record set unofficially in 1927. Her final time: 7 hours and 57 minutes.
The New York Times covered her feat the very next day, and suddenly, Nyad wasn’t just a swimmer—she was a national name. The spotlight had officially found her.
The Cuba-to-Florida Dream Takes Shape
After her triumphant Manhattan swim, Diana felt unstoppable. At peak physical condition and with national attention, she knew it was time.
The dream she’d carried since childhood—swimming from Cuba to Florida—suddenly felt within reach. No one had completed the journey without a shark cage, and the challenge loomed large.
But Nyad was ready to try. Fueled by confidence, youth, and ambition, she set her sights on the treacherous 110-mile stretch of open ocean that had captivated her since age nine.
A Painful Setback
At age 28, Diana finally went after her childhood dream—swimming from Havana to Key West. The timing felt right, and so did she.
On August 13, 1978, she launched into the attempt from Ortegosa Beach, 50 miles west of Havana, inside a steel shark cage for protection.
A support team followed her closely by boat, monitoring. For nearly 42 grueling hours, she battled ocean swells and punishing winds. She truly gave it her all, but it wasn’t enough.
Dealing With Defeat
By the morning of August 15, Diana had been in the ocean for nearly 42 hours when her team’s doctor made the heartbreaking decision to pull her out.
She had swum 76 miles, but fierce currents dragged her toward Texas. Her body was bruised, battered, and slammed repeatedly against the shark cage.
It was a crushing moment. Nyad had poured everything into the attempt. Being pulled from the water wasn’t just a physical end—it felt like her dream slipping away.
One Last Swim—For Now
On her 30th birthday, August 21–22, 1979, Diana set out on what would quietly become her final competitive swim—at least for a very long time.
She crossed from North Bimini Island in the Bahamas to Juno Beach, Florida. Initial reports measured the distance between 60 and 89 miles; later accounts stretched it to 102.5.
Still processing the heartbreak of her failed Cuba attempt, she felt 30 was a dignified age to step away, never guessing she’d one day return to chase the dream again.
A New Chapter in Media and Writing
After stepping away from swimming in 1979, Diana carved out a new kind of success—this time, on land. For the next three decades, she built a thriving career in media and storytelling.
She became a respected sports broadcaster, working with major outlets like NPR, ABC’s Wide World of Sports, and CBS News.
Her charismatic delivery made her a familiar voice to audiences far beyond the swimming world. She also wrote four books and became a motivational speaker. Still, something was missing.
The Dream That Wouldn’t Let Go
Despite her successful career in broadcasting and writing, one thing quietly lingered in Diana Nyad’s mind: the dream she hadn’t fulfilled.
She had swum around Manhattan, crossed oceans, and broken records—but she hadn’t reached Florida from Cuba. That childhood promise still felt incomplete.
“It’s not like I was fixated on doing that swim all those years, but I guess somehow, I was, and that I always did have Cuba in the back of my brain,” she told TIME Magazine in 2023.
Something Clicked
In 2009, two significant things happened to Diana: she lost her mother, and not long after that, she turned 60. Something deep inside her stirred.
She had no children, no next generation to carry her name—but she did have a dream that had never quite let her go.
Staring down the reality of time, Nyad chose defiance. She would return to the water, to the dream she’d left unfinished at 28. And this time, she would take things even further.
No Cage, No Fear
At 60, Diana felt she had the mental resilience to take things even further, the kind of strength she hadn’t yet developed in her 20s. That is why she decided to try again, this time, without a shark cage.
She wasn’t just coming back. She was raising the bar. But she knew what she was up against: Florida’s warm waters teemed with sharks and deadly box jellyfish.
The Gulf Stream’s unpredictable currents could sweep her off course toward the Bahamas or into the open Gulf. To tackle this challenge, she would need a support system.
Bonnie Stoll Joins the Mission
When Diana Nyad first told her best friend, Bonnie Stoll, that she planned to swim from Cuba to Florida at age 60, without a shark cage, Bonnie told her she was crazy.
As a fitness trainer, Stoll knew what this kind of swim demanded. She initially refused to take part, worried Diana was chasing something reckless and impossible. But Nyad was relentless.
Eventually, Bonnie caved, not because she believed it was doable, but because she couldn’t let her best friend chase a dream alone. She became Nyad’s anchor, both in and out of the water.
The Team That Kept Her Going
Bonnie and Diana knew their mission would need more than friendship—it would need a team built to battle the sea. In total, Diana gathered a 35-person team and invested $500,000.
John Bartlett would take the helm, navigating the lead boat through wild Gulf currents. Shark expert Luke Tipple would operate the sonar to keep predators away.
Jellyfish expert Dr. Angel Yanagihara would prepare anti-sting protocols. From medics to kayakers, every member would have one mission: keep Diana safe, steady, and swimming.
Training for the Impossible
From January 2010 to August 2011, Diana trained with ruthless intensity, rebuilding her body and mind to take on the ocean once more.
She traveled to St. Maarten for long-distance swims in open water, spending up to 15 hours at a time in the sea to test her endurance.
Her team drilled her on how to swim in a straight line, manage hallucinations, and handle jellyfish encounters. This was no casual comeback. It was war prep.
The World Started Watching
As Diana Nyad trained for her return to the sea, word of her daring plan began to spread—and the media quickly took notice.
A 60-year-old woman attempting a record-breaking swim without a cage? It was unheard of. “I’d like to prove to the other 60-year-olds that it is never too late to start your dreams,” she told reporters.
By the time she approached her second attempt in August 2011, all eyes were on her. The world was watching—and waiting—to see if she could defy the odds.
The Day Finally Came
On August 7, 2011, just before sunset, Diana Nyad slipped into the waters off Havana—33 years after her first attempt. She was 61.
There was no shark cage this time, only electronic shark shields, a loyal crew, and a CNN news team ready to beam her journey to the world.
The moment felt electric. The dream she’d carried since childhood was no longer just hers—millions were watching, willing her forward, stroke by stroke, into the night.
The Ocean Strikes Back
But even the strongest wills can’t bend the sea. By hour three, her shoulder ached. The winds and currents pushed her east, far off course.
She fought on for 29 hours, but the final blow came quietly: her asthma flared. Breathless, she flipped to her back again and again just to survive.
At 12:45 AM on August 9, she was pulled from the water. The attempt was over—but the dream, battered and breathless, still clung to life.
Two More Tries, Two More Heartbreaks
Diana wasn’t ready to let go. Just weeks after her second failed attempt, she returned to the water on September 23, 2011, for try number three.
For 41 hours, she pushed forward, covering 67 nautical miles. But stings from a box jellyfish caused her respiratory distress, forcing her team to pull her out once again.
Still undeterred, Nyad made a fourth attempt on August 18, 2012. But after enduring two brutal storms and nine jellyfish stings, she had to stop. Closer than ever, but still not close enough.
Victory, at last
On August 31, 2013, Diana Nyad entered the waters of Havana for the fifth time, chasing the dream she had carried since she was nine years old.
The ocean hit back hard. She vomited from swallowed seawater, battled intense hallucinations, and endured jellyfish stings that pierced through layers of protection. Still, she persisted.
Fifty-three hours later, on September 2, she reached Key West. Lips swollen, body shaking, she staggered onto the sand as a crowd erupted. The dream was no longer a dream—it was reality.
The Woman of the Hour
The moment Diana stepped onto the sands of Key West, the world lit up. She hadn’t just finished the swim—she’d made history doing it.
She had already broken the world record for longest-distance open-water swim without a shark cage, surpassing Penny Palfrey’s 2012 mark. Suddenly, every major news outlet wanted her story.
Her website crashed under the weight of over 18,000 visits per second. After decades in the shadows, Diana Nyad was everywhere. She was a living legend.
From the Ocean to the Oval Office
Diana Nyad’s triumph didn’t just make headlines—it captured the heart of a nation. Her story spread so fast, it reached the highest office in the land.
She had gone viral in every sense of the word. Amid the media frenzy, President Barack Obama invited to the White House! She was on top of the world.
It was a surreal moment: a lifelong dream fulfilled, a world record shattered—and now, a nod from the President himself. Diana Nyad had officially become a national icon.
Praise and Pushback
With fame came questions. As Diana Nyad’s story spread, whispers within the marathon swimming world grew louder, and some began to doubt what they were hearing.
Could someone truly swim over 100 miles at 64, entirely on her own? Skeptics raised eyebrows, analyzing every detail—her pace, her path, her team’s role.
The applause was real, but so was the doubt. As cheers echoed, controversy crept in, challenging not just her swim but the story she wanted it to be.
Diana Responded
Nyad was well aware of the skepticism that followed her swim. But she didn’t respond with outrage—she understood where some of the doubt came from.
“Marathon swimmers are a special breed; it’s a grueling sport, and they suffer,” she said. “I understand why someone might be rankled if they don’t get any recognition.”
When she came ashore in 2013, marathon swimming was still evolving. Standards were inconsistent and just beginning to emerge. Still, she stood by her story,
A Sport Without a Rulebook
When Diana completed her swim in 2013, marathon swimming had no universal authority—just customs, debates, and a patchwork of personal standards.
The closest thing to structure was the World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA), founded in 2008 by former swimmer Steven Munatones as a one-man project.
Munatones worked to define terms like “assisted” and “unassisted,” but there were no enforceable rules. He observed Nyad’s four failed attempts, but wasn’t present for her successful crossing.
Seeking Recognition
Five years after her historic swim, Nyad asked the World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) to officially recognize her achievement, but no ratification process existed at the time.
Nyad said she was never informed that documentation was needed, and it wasn’t until nearly a decade later that her team submitted detailed evidence of the crossing.
In 2022, WOWSA released a report confirming she swam from Havana to Key West without known assistance or exiting the water. It was an acknowledgment but not formal ratification.
The Sting of Rejection
In September 2023, just as renewed interest in Diana’s story surged with the release of the movie biopic Nyad, a blow landed where it hurt most.
WOWSA announced it would not ratify her 2013 swim, citing unverifiable rules, conflicting crew accounts, and missing observer logs covering over nine critical hours of the crossing.
Shortly after, the Guinness Book of Records removed her achievement from its database. For Nyad, it felt like a punch in the gut.
A Divided Verdict
Though WOWSA refused to ratify Diana Nyad’s swim, the debate didn’t end there. The Marathon Swimmers Federation offered a different perspective—one that came with conditions.
The organization, founded after her 2013 crossing, acknowledged the swim as legitimate, but classified it as “assisted” due to her use of safety gear, shark deterrents, and support divers.
At first, Nyad resisted the label, having hoped for unassisted recognition. But over time, she softened her stance, ultimately saying she’d accept the achievement if given the chance.
Nyad’s Take: “Help, But Never a Push”
For Diana, the controversy surrounding her swim has always felt deeply unfair, not because she denied receiving any help, but because of what that help actually was.
“Yes, someone may have helped me zip or unzip my suit,” she admitted. “But no one ever held me up, pulled me, or pushed me forward.”
“It’s the ultimate absurdity because in 2013, there were no auspices of the sport that performed ratifications,” she said. Without clear rules, she believes her dream was unfairly tainted by timing.
Her One True Regret
Looking back, Diana admitted there’s one thing she wishes she’d done differently—not in the water, but on land.
“I didn’t dive into the marathon swimming world, I didn’t write blogs or get on the websites of various organizations,” she reflected. “I just went about my business, got a team together.”
She wasn’t looking to rejoin a sport or gain approval, just to fulfill a dream. “But honestly, I wish I had [reached out],” she said. “I wasn’t returning to engage. I just came back to finish what I started.”
The Legacy Stands
Despite what some may believe—assisted or not—what Diana Nyad accomplished at 64 is nothing short of extraordinary.
She swam over 100 miles through open ocean, battling exhaustion, pain, and time itself. That kind of feat doesn’t go unnoticed.
Her story is more than a swim. It’s a reminder that dreams don’t come with expiration dates—and that determination can carry us farther than we ever imagined.
