Diana Nyad, 64, is nearing the end of her approximately 100-mile swim from Havana, Cuba, to the Florida Keys. She had already reached a point further than anyone else had swam before without a shark cage to protect against sea creatures and the elements by Sunday night at 9 p.m. EDT. At that point, she was 80.38 miles into her journey, according to her blog, which is following her progress.
At 7 a.m., cruise ships made way for the endurance swimmer. At about 7:15 a.m., doctors reported that her tongue and lips were swollen. Though they were concerned about her airways, they did not intervene.
Nyad set out on her fifth attempt in 35 years to swim the Florida strait at 8:59 a.m. on Saturday. The swim was expected to take about 60 hours.
Related: Diana Nyad, 64, Embodies Determination: 5th Attempt at Cuba-USA Swim
Bonnie Stoll on Good Morning America reported Monday: “Diana started at 51 strokes per minute and right now she is doing 51 strokes per minute.”
Some of Nyad’s previous attempts were thwarted by dehydration and a jellyfish sting. At 10 a.m. on Monday, the support team following her in a boat spotted the first jellyfish and safely removed it from Nyad’s path.
Nyad has faced some stormy seas and has been disoriented at times, but has made it past any of her previous attempts.
Australian endurance swimmer Susie Maroney succeeded on the swim in 1997 at the age of 22 with a shark cage, reported CNN. The cage protects against waves and weather hazards as well as sharks. Other swimmers have tried since, but none have succeeded.
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