The Other Shore: The Diana Nyad Story

Nyad, a world champion marathon swimmer and author, has long dreamed of swimming from Cuba to Florida before her retirement. This audacious goal anchors her career and fuels her relentless pursuit of endurance records. The idea of crossing the vast Atlantic gap becomes the through-line of her life in the years that follow.

Nyad attempts the Cuba-to-Florida crossing while inside a shark cage as seas rage around her. She battles the elements for 41 hours and 54 minutes, covering 76 miles of the 103-mile route before she must abandon the swim. The brutal conditions force an early end to the historic bid.

At age 30 Nyad retires from competitive swimming, believing she would never take up a stroke again. She contemplates a new career after the sport, including an offer to join ABC Sports as a sportscaster. Her retirement becomes a turning point that sets the stage for a dramatic comeback years later.

In February 2010 Nyad, now in her sixties, begins training again with a relentless schedule. She starts with 20-minute sprints, then builds up to several hours in both the pool and on land as she masters the demands of an epic crossing. The goal remains the same: to swim 103 miles from Cuba to Florida.

Nyad works with Candace Hogan to set the tough rules for the crossing: no flotation devices, no sleep during the 60-hour attempt, no grabbing the boat, and strict equipment limits (bathing cap, goggles, two swimsuits, and grease). The plan emphasizes endurance and discipline as she trains toward an open-water crossing. The rulebook shapes every training and every decision during the expedition.

Nyad conducts her first ocean training swim in Baja, Mexico, pushing through to eight hours of swimming. She ends the session after 5 hours and 8 minutes when her body stops generating heat and becomes stiff, forcing a difficult conclusion to the session. This early setback reveals how demanding the crossing truly is.

Nyad's Cuba crossing team grows into a coordinated force of over 35 people, including handlers, a navigation crew, a shark-diver team, a kayak unit with electric devices, a jellyfish team, a weather team, a medical team, and a dedicated support crew. Candace Hogan and Bonnie Stall become long-time collaborators who feed, motivate, and guide her through the long hours. The elaborate logistics illustrate the scale of the expedition.

Cuban visas are granted and the team waits for a three-day stretch of flat calm, a rare window in a hurricane-prone year. Vanessa Linsley serves as fleet captain, coordinating the flotilla and ensuring safety as the team monitors storms. The delayed window tests the team’s patience and resolve.

Nyad launches from Hemmingway Boat Club with the dream within reach. After 10 hours the team still has 85 miles to go, and after 12 hours they report 79 miles left, with Nyad fed every 90 minutes. The long, grueling start reinforces the enormity of the undertaking.

Around 18 hours into the swim, Nyad experiences shoulder and leg pain and an asthma attack. Doctor Michael Broder diagnoses issues and provides an inhaler to sustain her, but the frequent stops push the course off its planned track. The exhausting pace and recurring medical concerns threaten to derail the crossing.

By 29 hours in, Nyad has 57 miles remaining and cannot sustain the pace. The team records 63 miles to go at 24 hours, but the off-course drift and cumulative fatigue make continuing untenable. She ultimately withdraws from the attempt with the distance still to go.

Two weeks later Nyad resumes with a second attempt, on September 23, 2011. Early in the swim she is stung by box jellyfish, the most venomous marine life in the area, which causes respiratory strain and heart trouble. Despite multiple stings, she fights on as venom subsides, but jellyfish attacks persist and force a dramatic change in strategy.

After several hours she remains miles from the goal and faces persistent jellyfish stings and strong currents sweeping toward the Bahamas. At hour 36 there are still 45 miles to go, yet venom and currents leave Nyad unable to maintain pace. Bonnie Stall recognizes the current crossing is over, and Nyad exits the water with 54 miles still to go.

On August 18, 2012 Nyad begins a third attempt but runs into a hurricane, forcing withdrawal after 51 hours and covering 70 miles. The brutal conditions again deny her the crossing but demonstrate her unwavering persistence.

Nyad achieves the historic Cuba-to-Florida crossing on her fifth attempt in 2013, becoming the first person to swim the route non-stop without protection. The victory caps a decades-long pursuit, validating her relentless training and dedication.