Diana Nyad

Diana Nyad is an American long-distance open water swimmer and journalist born August 22, 1949, who set numerous marathon swimming records in the 1970s, including swimming around Manhattan Island. In September 2013, at age 64 and on her fifth attempt over more than three decades, she became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida, roughly 110 miles, without the protection of a shark cage, a swim that took nearly 53 hours. Her later life and this final swim were the subject of the 2023 film Nyad, and she has continued to work as an author, motivational speaker and sports broadcaster.