Reuters: U.S.: U.S. swimmer Nyad more than halfway in Cuba-to-Florida swim

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U.S. swimmer Nyad more than halfway in Cuba-to-Florida swim Sep 2nd 2013, 02:18 U.S. long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad is pictured before attempting to swim to Florida from Havana August 31, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Enrique De La Osa By Kevin Gray MIAMI | Sun Sep 1, 2013 10:18pm EDT MIAMI (Reuters) - American long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad was more than halfway across the Florida Straits on Sunday, stroking through calm waters after going farther than any of her previous attempts to become the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage. Nyad, 64, was "swimming strongly" more than 35 hours after she set off from the Cuban capital of Havana, according to blog updates on her website (www.diananyad.com). By 4 p.m. EDT, Nyad had swum more than 63 miles of the 103-mile distance in her bid to reach the Florida Keys. The marathon swimmer is making her fifth and final attempt at the crossing, this time using a protective silicone mask to better protect her from the poisonous jellyfish that forced her to end one of two attempted crossings last year. Nyad has said the custom-made mask slows her and makes it more difficult to breath. It could take up to three days to complete the swim. Nyad departed on Saturday morning accompanied by five support boats that also provide her with food and water. John Bartlett, a member of Nyad's crew, wrote on her website that she had swum farther than she had on any previous attempt. Her swimming speed of 2 mph, he said, had been "increasing progressively throughout the day due to a favorable current." The jellyfish are among the biggest challenges she faces in making the swim through the shark-infested straits. Australian endurance swimmer Chloe McCardel abandoned her quest in June to make the crossing after she was severely stung by a jellyfish 11 hours into her attempt. As night fell on Sunday, Nyad put on a jellyfish-protection suit, the website said. She did not immediately put on her protective mask. Instead, the exposed parts of her face were slathered with a special protective cream dubbed "Sting Stopper," it said. At one point on Sunday, the website said, Nyad floated on her back kicking and led a crew of 35 people keeping her on course through the strong Gulf Stream current in singing "Happy Birthday" to a crew member. "Diana is feeling strong and very coherent," another update read. "She is joking for the first time all day. The only concern is that she is throwing up everything she eats." Nyad was stopping every 40 minutes to eat, taking several bites of scrambled eggs and pasta, the blog said. The treacherous body of water is the holy grail for marathon swimmers. It has been conquered only once, by Australian Susie Maroney, who used a protective cage at age 22 during a 1997 swim. The cage glided on ocean currents and enabled Maroney to make the journey in just 25 hours. Nyad's long-distance accomplishments include swimming around the island of Manhattan in 1975 and a swim from the Bahamas to Florida in 1979. (Reporting by Kevin Gray; Editing by Leslie Adler and Philip Barbara) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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