Swimmer Diane Nyad ‘through with the ocean’

Diana Nyad, 64, suffered dehydration, sunburn and swelling during her 53-hour swim. Picture: Getty Images

Diana Nyad, speaking on US television networks yesterday, said she would continue making long-distance swims in a portable pool to be installed in New York. She pledged to swim 48 hours on 8-10 October to raise money for people left homeless last year by Hurricane Sandy.

“No waves, no jellyfish, no seasickness,” she said on CNN, referring to the pool.

She then plans to take the pool to Boston to raise money for victims of the Boston Marathon bombing tied to the anniversary of the 15 April attack, and later to Moore, Oklahoma, to raise money for victims of a tornado that devastated that town last May. “My message now is, ‘we won’t forget you,’” Ms Nyad said to the victims.

Ms Nyad later told CNN her swim was not easy, but that she was determined with each stroke forward to “push Cuba back, and push Florida towards” her.

“With all that experience I have, especially in this ocean, I never knew I would suffer the way I did,” she told CNN. “For 49 hours, the wind just blew like heck, and it was rough.”

Ms Nyad became the first person to swim across the Florida Straits from Cuba without a shark cage, completing her 53-hour swim on Monday after four prior attempts, the first in 1978, followed by three times in 2011 and 2012. She set a record for the longest ocean swim without a shark cage or flippers, according to her crew.

Ms Nyad credited a lack of box jellyfish, which she called the most deadly animals in the ocean, with allowing her to make it this time. She also wore a prosthetic mask to protect her from jellyfish, although it also allowed sea water into her mouth, creating sores and repeated vomiting during her swim.

“That’s their world, and I had to get through them,” Ms Nyad told reporters.

She added that she swam faster in her 20s, but her endurance has grown in her 60s. She said she used a mantra to help keep her going: “Find a way.”

US president Barack Obama was among the celebrities who tweeted congratulations. The president’s Tweet read: “Never give up on your dreams.”

Ms Nyad’s doctor, Derek Covington, said the swimmer was healthy and would not need a long time to recover from dehydration, sunburn and the swelling in and around her mouth from seawater.

“She was incredible to watch the whole way through,” he said. During her marathon swim, Ms Nyad paused occasionally for nourishment, but never left the water until she reached Florida and waded ashore.

“More than the athletic feat, she wants to send a message of peace, love, friendship and happiness … between the people of the United States and Cuba,” said Jose Miguel Diaz Escrich, who helped organise the Cuban side of Ms Nyad’s attempts.

Australian Susie Maroney successfully swam the route in 1997 with a shark cage, which has a drafting effect that pulls a swimmer along.