Want to know what it’s like to swim non-stop in the ocean for 53 hours? Or try and fail at a big goal four separate times, but still pick yourself up and try again? Then watch this movie.
The content of this post is similar to the post in my Books category about the Diana Nyad book, “Find a Way.” The movie, released in 2023, is heavily based on Nyad’s 2015 book.
Dream adventures rarely just happen. They take a lot of time, effort, and often many years of failed attempts – even when that adventure is “just going for a swim.” But Diana Nyad’s incredible 110 mile (180 km) swim from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida, chronicled in this book, is hardly “just a swim.” It is roughly the equivalent of 5 English Channel crossings, and she ultimately had 4 failed attempts over the course 35 years. After 53 hours of swimming, and at the impressive age of 64. When asked why she was making her 5th attempt at such an age, she responded, “Because I’d like to prove to the other 60-year-olds that it is never too late to start your dreams.” That’s a very apt response for this website’s purposes.
In her book, and again in the movie “Nyad” that is based on it, she describes how marathon swims became so important in her life and what they meant to her. Her explanation of the devastating let-downs of the many failed attempts at the Cuba-to-Florida swim and how those failures nearly broke her (psychologically, physically, and financially) is moving. But she also provides an interesting peek into the psyche of an ultra-passionate and competitive athlete who will never give up on a dream until achieving it. Finally, the book and the movie give great credit to the team of people who supported her in her various attempts. One thinks of open water swimming as a very solitary sport, but swims like hers – and even lesser ones like the English Channel – require a significant support crew for navigation, safety, nutrition, and motivation.
For the in-the-know open-water swimmers among you readers, you’re surely aware of the controversy surrounding Nyad’s swim. While there can be debate and gray area around definitions like “official” and and “unsupported,” the fact remains it was an incredible display of determination and physical and mental grit regardless of the noise around the edges. Most of us would be stretched to managed just 1/20th of the swim that she did.
I always find the books to be better than their movie equivalent, and if I’m going to do both I always make sure to read the book first. Either way, you can’t go wrong with this fascinating story about an amazing accomplishment by a woman with a five decade long resume of amazing accomplishments in the water.