In the wake of Diana Nyad’s historic swim from Cuba to Florida, long-distance swimming has enjoyed an unusual amount of media attention. Not all the focus on the endurance sport, however, has been celebratory.
Earlier this month, the 64-year-old Nyad became the first person (male or female) to successfully swim from Havana to Key West without a shark cage. Her fifth attempt at the 110-mile route took her just under 53 hours. She first attempted the crossing back in 1978, when she was 28 years old.
Soon after her swim, however, questions regarding the validity of her accomplishment began to rise to the surface from the community of athletes who knew the most about her feat: open-water swimmers themselves.
“We’re not necessarily judging,” local Valley marathon swimmer Sydne Didier told the Advocate. “We just want clarification.”
Read on at the Valley Advocate …
