Diana Nyad's Swim
Chloe O’Connor O’Connor 1
Mrs. Craig
English 10 Accelerated
21 October 2013
Diana Nyad’s Swim Diana Nyad completed a 103-mile swim from Havana, Cuba, to Key West, Florida, without a shark cage. However, there are several controversies involving the swim. One of these controversies is the possibility that Nyad either got onto or held onto the boat. Holding onto the boat could have increased her speed. “Diana Nyad defends record Cuba-Florida swim as ‘squeaky clean,’” by Jennifer Kay, discusses the Gulf Stream currents which helped increase her speed. Another controversial statement is that Nyad did not eat or drink for almost seven hours at one time. Later, Nyad and her team admitted these statements as untrue. Nyad’s team said that she never went more than 45 minutes without water at a time since she began her journey. A third controversy concerning Nyad’s jellyfish suit could have given her an unfair advantage. The suit kept Diana Nyad from being stung by jellyfish. This suit was needed to keep Nyad from being severely injured by the deadly sea creatures; she had attempted the swim a few times before this successful one, but always she had to stop due to the jellyfish which gave her terrible stings and burns. Such controversies about Diana Nyad’s swim have recently surfaced; these controversies seem unfair and unnecessary. Nyad had tried many times before to complete this swim and has finally done it, but some critics believe she has broken the traditional rules of this sport. One of these controversies is that Nyad didn’t eat or drink anything for seven hours. Diana Nyad’s team say, “Published statements by her doctors [say] that she went seven hours without eating or drinking were mistakes, and while there were hours when she didn’t eat solid food, she never went more than 45 minutes without water once she was well on her way from Cuba” (Kay 3). This statement says that Nyad
O’Connor 2
did not eat solid food, which means she could’ve been
Mrs. Craig
English 10 Accelerated
21 October 2013
Diana Nyad’s Swim Diana Nyad completed a 103-mile swim from Havana, Cuba, to Key West, Florida, without a shark cage. However, there are several controversies involving the swim. One of these controversies is the possibility that Nyad either got onto or held onto the boat. Holding onto the boat could have increased her speed. “Diana Nyad defends record Cuba-Florida swim as ‘squeaky clean,’” by Jennifer Kay, discusses the Gulf Stream currents which helped increase her speed. Another controversial statement is that Nyad did not eat or drink for almost seven hours at one time. Later, Nyad and her team admitted these statements as untrue. Nyad’s team said that she never went more than 45 minutes without water at a time since she began her journey. A third controversy concerning Nyad’s jellyfish suit could have given her an unfair advantage. The suit kept Diana Nyad from being stung by jellyfish. This suit was needed to keep Nyad from being severely injured by the deadly sea creatures; she had attempted the swim a few times before this successful one, but always she had to stop due to the jellyfish which gave her terrible stings and burns. Such controversies about Diana Nyad’s swim have recently surfaced; these controversies seem unfair and unnecessary. Nyad had tried many times before to complete this swim and has finally done it, but some critics believe she has broken the traditional rules of this sport. One of these controversies is that Nyad didn’t eat or drink anything for seven hours. Diana Nyad’s team say, “Published statements by her doctors [say] that she went seven hours without eating or drinking were mistakes, and while there were hours when she didn’t eat solid food, she never went more than 45 minutes without water once she was well on her way from Cuba” (Kay 3). This statement says that Nyad
O’Connor 2
did not eat solid food, which means she could’ve been