Diana Nyad, the 64-year-old swimmer who’s attempted the 180-kilometre journey four times before, made it to Key West, Florida from Cuba today. She isn’t the first to make the epic swim, but she’s the first to complete without the aid of a shark cage.
Jellyfish were a roadblock in her previous attempts. Of course those beautiful fucking jerks of the sea stood in the way of something this cool. From the Guardian:
Her fourth attempt, made in August 2011, was called off early after she was stung in two separate attacks by box jellyfish whose deadly venom has claimed more human lives in the past 50 years than shark bites. Nyad said the stings felt like having her entire body submerged in hot, burning oil. “I was yelling: ‘Fire, fire, fire!'” she recalled.
In other “feats of endurance” news, I’m about to put on pants for the first time today.
