Ripples #75

Compiled and written by Lenny Giteck

Diana Nyad Finally Achieves Her
Dream to Swim from Cuba to Florida

After four failed attempts, legendary American distance swimmer Diana Nyad has achieved her dream to be the first person to swim across the Florida Strait without the benefit of a shark cage.

Nyad’s previous attempts were hampered by painful jellyfish stings, problems with asthma, stormy weather and rough seas. This time it took the 64-year-old aquatic athlete more than 53 hours to complete the approximately 100-mile course. She wore a specially designed anti-jellyfish face mask during the swim.

Nyad’s feat was especially noteworthy because of her age. Film critic and writer Gene Seymour put it this way on CNN.com (“Diana Nyad Shows Baby Boomers So ‘Not Over’”):

As galvanic as Nyad’s triumph has been to the world at large, even those who don’t care a whit about athletic pursuits, it’s been especially gratifying to those of us who belong to the baby boom generation and believe that we still have worthwhile, even astonishing things to contribute to the global imagination.

Upon completing the swim, an exhausted but thrilled Nyad was quoted by CNN.com as saying, “[I’ve] got three messages. One is we should never, ever give up. Two is you never are too old to chase your dreams. Three is [distance swimming] looks like a solitary sport, but it’s a team.”

Video: To watch an interview with Diana Nyad following her record-setting swim, click here. Note: Some Web sites may open behind this page.

Ripples Classic: October 2010

French Quadruple Amputee
Swims the English Channel

In the last installment of Ripples, we wrote about an intercontinental swimming race between Europe and Asia. That was a bit of a gimmick, however, because the event took place across the narrow Bosphorus strait in Turkey. Still, we noted that the race included “amputees and other physically challenged individuals” — pretty impressive even if the course was just a half-mile long.

Now comes news that in late September, a quadruple amputee from France swam across the English Channel, which is 21 miles at the narrowest point. The extraordinary feat took 42-year-old Philippe Croizon 13.5 hours, rather than the 24 hours he thought it would.

According to an Associated Press report, “The swimmer’s arms and legs were amputated after he suffered an electric shock in 1994 as he stood on a ladder adjusting his television antenna, which touched a power line.” Croizon swims with special leg prostheses to which fins are attached, the AP said.

The intrepid Frenchman is now planning to swim across the Strait of Gibraltar — which although a shorter distance than the English Channel, may be even more dangerous because of the currents and large amount of ship traffic. In addition to his swimming exploits, Croizon is an avid scuba diver and has gone skydiving.

“If I can show other people that life is not only suffering, I would be happy,” Croizon was quoted as saying. “We suffer, but we get back up again.”

To see a photo of Monsieur Croizon, click here.

And with that, Ripples once again says…
Until next time, happy watershaping to you!