The Amazing Story of Diana Nyad Proving That Age Is Just A Number!
Tips for better health and life
Whatever your goals, you are never too old or too young to go for them. Some said that Diana Nyad should have given up her dream of swimming from Cuba to Florida. Age you see was going against her. I came across her story after watching a bio-pic of her accomplishments on Netflix, starring the likes of Jodi Foster and Annette Bening.
Her dream was no easy feat because it would take something like superhuman strength to navigate the journey and stay on course. The movie showcased that her success was very much a team effort because there was a group of encouraging men and women who backed her long-distance swim.
One of the most remarkable things about Nyad was her unwavering trust in her abilities. She had made previous distance swimming in 1979 breaking a record for swimming without a websuit from Bimini to Florida.
The movie depicts her rigorous training for the epic Cuba to Florida swim which involved hours of long practice swims through various weather elements.
Some of the dangers she encountered included storms, as well as encounters with jellyfish stings. On an episode of Ted Talks, Nyad discussed how jellyfish stings caused respiratory distress that caused an early Cuba to Florida swim to end.
I was surprised too that Nyad never gave up when people thought she had hung up the towel years early. In fact, Nyad’s attempt to swim the epic journey from Havana to Florida began at age 28 in the 70’s. She resurrected her dream over 30 years later when in 2010, Nyad began training to complete her long haul swim.
When asked why she wanted to swim again, Nyad said:
Because I’d like to prove to the other 60-year-olds that it is never too late to start your dreams.
It took Nyad 5 more attempts before she succeeded in her lifelong goal of swimming unassisted from Cuba to Florida.
The distance was an incredible 110 miles (180 km). Nyad was accompanied by a 35-person support team and special swimwear such as a body suit and a silicone mask. I must also add that she reached her goal successfully without swimming in a shark cage.
Her story is worth watching because she is one of the most inspiring women that I have known.
That’s all today. Hope you enjoyed this.
Already on Medium? Don’t miss any of my stories, and if you are on Medium, subscribe to me via email here to get my latest articles. Please also show your support and follow me, too and this publication.
Check out my previous stories: