Daily Almanac for Thursday, September 2, 2021; the 245th Day of the Year

On this date in 2013, Diana Nyad completed a two-day, two-night swim from Cuba to Florida, She became the first person to accomplish the feat without having a shark cage to protect her. Here she is speaking at an event in Phoenix, Arizona, September 2016 photo. By Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, https commons.wikimedia.org

COURTESY WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

Diana Nyad/ˈnaɪˌæd/ (née Sneed; born August 22, 1949) is an American author, journalist, motivational speaker, and long-distance swimmer. Nyad gained national attention in 1975 when she swam around Manhattan (28 mi or 45 km) and in 1979 when she swam from North BiminiThe Bahamas, to Juno Beach, Florida (102 mi (164 km)). In 2013, on her fifth attempt and at age 64, she became the first person claiming to have swum from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage, swimming from Havana to Key West (110 mi or 177 km) although this has not been formally ratified by any recognised swim body. Nyad was also once ranked thirteenth among US women squash players.

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