2023-11-16 03:36:00
Diana Nyad is a journalist and open water swimmer, who was born in 1949 in New York and lived much of her life in Florida. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English and French and earned a doctorate in comparative literature at New York University.
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Nyad completed a women’s world record on the 22-mile route from Capri to Naples, in 1975 she completed a swim around the island of Manhattan and in 1979 she covered a 102-mile course from the island of Bimini in the Bahamas to Florida.
At 28 years old, the athlete made her first attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida inside a steel cage that protected her from sharks, but she had to abandon it when one of the many currents that cross the path diverted her from her path.
After 30 years without swimming, Nyad (water nymph in Greek, according to her stepfather) returned to training, conflicted between the monotony of her life and her great unfinished business.
The film released on streaming that bears the protagonist’s last name is regarding this “restarting.” A woman as persevering as she is obsessive and self-centered.
Such searches lead her to return to progressive swimming, having her best friend, played in the film by Jodie Foster, at her side as a guide and coach.
On September 2, 2013, at age 64 and on her fifth attempt, Diana Nyad swam 177 kilometers (according to National Geographic) from Havana to Key West in 52 hours and 54 minutes
To do this, he learned from his mistakes. It included John Barlett’s boat and current expert, an antenna that emitted an electrical signal that disturbs the sharks’ hearing system, a suit, masks and a couple of kayakers with sticks, ready to hit the sharks on the snouts.
With swollen lips and mouth ulcers due to salt and sun exposure, following becoming disoriented and losing coordination, he finally arrived at the Floridian beaches. where exhausted she said: “First, we should never give up. Second, we are never too old to pursue our dreams. Third, it seems like a solitary sport, but it takes a team.”
The story inspires us to fulfill postponed dreams and never give up.
From the concept of sport and to the extent that health comes into conflict with the obvious excess that means swimming for so long without stopping in dangerous waters, for an elderly person exposed to too many dangers, It doesn’t seem like an example to imitate.
Maybe having recovered from being a victim of sexual abuse as a child, her varied achievements as an athlete and proudly belonging to a minority group, are flags that, together with their current physical activity, are sufficient for social recognition. Furthermore, there are unfathomable territories of each human being, where his own passion leads him to stretch his limits. There is an area that is difficult to auscultate and who is ultimately subject to his own designs, as long as with them he does not expose others.
Unfortunately, characters like Nyad and his work team only become relevant with obtaining the record. Surely the veteran swimmer was fully aware of this for decades.
To the point that all her fight would have been in vain, if she had not arrived almost dying at Smathers Beach following avoiding currents, sharks, jellyfish and even losing consciousness.
That is perhaps the most morbid and hardest sea to cross, that of human stupidity.
*Lawyer. Natural Prof. of Physical Education. University teacher.
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#Nyad #inspiration #antisport
