On September 2, 2013, at the age of sixty-four, Diana Nyad became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage. Photo: Instagram
In 2013 at the age of 64, Diana Nyad became the first person to swim 110 miles from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage. It took her about 53 hours. After years of training, four failed attempts, being stung by multiple box jellyfish, dealing with dehydration, hypothermia, naysayers and more, she did it.
A long-distance swimmer since she was a kid, she’d made other huge swims, including one around the island of Manhattan in 1975. But she took a break from swimming for years to focus on working as a commentator, writer, and journalist. When she returned, she set a huge goal. Since then, she’s crossed that massive swim off the list, has written a book, and even given a TED Talk.
Diana and I talked about what it feels like to get stung by box jellyfish, her elixir for injury prevention, how she dealt with adversity as a child, what she sings while swimming for hours on end, and how you can go after your dreams and live more wildly no matter what.
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