Throwing you
a bender because I just thought you should know...
Diana Nyad made
a statement, “Never give up,” and supported it with completing a journey, a
dream, and an improbable swim this past week. Leaving the rocky shores of Cuba,
she dove into the water and swam 110 miles to the United States, coming ashore
in Key West, Florida. She is the first person to complete this swim unassisted
and without aid of a shark tank.
This was her
fifth attempt at the feat and now finally, at age 64, she accomplished
something she first attempted at age 28 in 1978. She donned a wet suit and
specially constructed face mask to fend off the jellyfish stings that have
doomed this swim in the past. She stayed in the water for 53 hours, enjoying
favorable weather and swift currents but she also endured multiple stings and
exhaustion as inordinate amounts of sea water were swallowed because of the
mask.
And now the
nitpickers are coming after Diana Nyad, wanting her to verify some of the more
questionable aspects of her historic swim from Cuba to Key West.
But these
nitpickers are different. These are not just outsiders and small minded critics
hoping to bring someone down and ruin a moment. These nitpickers are fellow
endurance swimmers and they are very clearly challenging the legitimacy of her
swim.
Very few
people are even aware of endurance swimming as a sport. Only a handful of times
in one's life does the sport even surface and usually only when a feat of this
magnitude takes place. So these fellow swimmers questioning Nyad are only
trying to lift up their sport, give it awareness and integrity.
To the
common folk such as myself, this is a cool story, a great accomplishment, and a
feat to marvel that someone could (would) swim for 53 hours in the ocean
amongst shark scares and jellyfish stings. This is not even to mention the
seemingly poor restroom facilities. But then we move on and never give
endurance swimming another thought.
Of course,
the marathon swimming faction considers this swim much more than a glancing
curiosity. This is the national spotlight glaring on their sport and they want
to ensure it is proper and the swim was done right. You see, there are rules,
guidelines and protocol for such swims if they are to be listed as records
within the swimming community.
The
"English Channel" rules are in place requiring a swimmer NOT to wear
a wet suit, NOT to have gloves or footies, NOT to have any thermal protection
or any artificial aids. Other endurance swimming rules declare that a swimmer
not be touched in any manner by a navigation member or receive any assistance
from touching a boat.
Between some
of these aspects being violated and a claim by swimming members that a 64 year
old woman set the all time, world record pace during a specific stretch of the
swim, the "nitpickers" are fairly questioning the validity of the
swim. Experts and fellow swimmers who know a whole lot more about this event
than me are claiming certain sections of the swim look odd. They simply don't
pass the eyeball test. And that is ok.
I don't
believe they are trying to drag down Diana Nyad; they are trying to legitimize
and elevate their sport. If Nyad's swim is worthy of being recognized as a
record amongst this group, then fine, that will all come out in the wash and
ensuing interviews and analysis. Everyone will win - Diana Nyad, the marathon
swimming members and the sport - and after days in the ocean swimming, I feel
positive Nyad can take on a few questions.
But getting
back to the common folk, the ones like me who took a completely different
message from this swim and will use it to emphasize a point I have made to my
children many times, this swimmer just simply never gave up.
Diana Nyad
did not stand on the shores of Cuba and call out "English Channel"
rules and she didn't declare ahead of time that this was intended to meet some
Endurance Swimming Association of the Universe standards. Just as kids don't
always call "dibs" before grabbing a seat or young sandlotters don’t
call “pitcher’s mound out” before the neighborhood championship, she just set
out to complete a dream and a task she has personally had for 35 years. No, her
message upon leaving the shores of Havana for the fifth time was clearly,
"Don't ever give up."
So maybe the
literal feat needs proving, clarifying. Maybe it lifts up the sport of
endurance swimming if proven to be legitimate or turns out to be “officially”
stricken. But either way, it takes away nothing from the spirit and
determination of a 64 year old woman and her message - never give up - which
she very decisively DID call out before ever getting in the water.
All this
because I know more about nothing...
