The character arc of Diana Nyad

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born on 22 August 1949 in New York City. Between then and now sit a Lake Forest degree in 1973, a record swim around Manhattan in 1975, a first Cuba to Florida attempt in 1978, a Bahamas to Florida swim in 1979, three further Cuba attempts in 2011 and 2012, and a crossing completed on 2 and 3 September 2013. The line below draws the story so far, in order.

Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who is Diana Nyad?

She went back a fifth time.

She took a degree in English and French at Lake Forest College in 1973 and enrolled in a doctoral programme in comparative literature at New York University. In 1975 she swam around Manhattan, twenty eight miles, in record time. In 1978, at twenty eight, she tried to swim from Cuba to Florida and stopped after roughly forty two hours. In 1979 she swam from Bimini in the Bahamas to Florida.

Then thirty three years passed. She came back to the Cuba swim in 2011, at sixty one, and stopped after twenty nine hours. She tried again the same year and stopped after forty one hours. She tried again in 2012 and stopped after three days. That is four failures at one thing, two of them in the same year, in front of everybody.

On 2 and 3 September 2013, at sixty four, she swam it, taking about fifty three hours. Guinness World Records initially recognised the swim and then withdrew that recognition, citing incomplete observer logs and other irregularities, and the record has never been formally ratified. This page states both facts and settles neither. What is not in dispute is the count: she attempted the same crossing five times across thirty five years. Her books are Other Shores in 1978, Basic Training for Women in 1981, Boss of Me in 1999 and Find a Way in 2015.

The moments

Diana Nyad's timeline.

The 1970s

Jun 1973

Lake Forest College

Milestone. A literature degree, before any of the swimming record.

6 Oct 1975

Around Manhattan

Milestone, and it changed her direction. Twenty eight miles around an island, in a record that stood.

13 Aug 1978

The first Cuba attempt

Setback, and it changed everything. Forty two hours in the water, and not far enough. She was twenty eight.

20 Aug 1979

Bimini to Florida

Milestone, and it changed her direction. A crossing she did finish, the year after the one she did not.

The 2010s

8 Aug 2011

Two attempts, one year

Setback, and it changed everything. Sixty one years old, back after thirty three years, and stopped twice in one season.

21 Aug 2012

A fourth attempt

Setback, and it changed everything. Three days in the water, and still not across. Most people stop at one of these.

1 Dec 2012

Stop at four, or go again

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: attempt it a fifth time, taken, or let it go. She swam it in about fifty three hours, though the record was never formally ratified.

2 Sep 2013

Cuba to Florida

Milestone, and it changed everything. Fifty three hours, at sixty four, on the fifth attempt. The record was never formally ratified.

20 Oct 2015

Find a Way

Milestone, and it changed her direction. Her fourth book, and the one about the crossing.

The story carries on past the fifth attempt, still talking about what the fourth taught her. What it has set moving is the count itself: five attempts at one crossing across thirty five years, which is a more useful fact than any certificate would have been.

What she wrote

Books by Diana Nyad

1978
Other Shores
Her first book, written in the year of the first Cuba attempt.
1981
Basic Training for Women
A training book, written at the height of her early swimming career.
2015
Find a Way
Her account of the five attempts and the crossing that finally worked, written at sixty six.

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Diana Nyad: frequently asked questions

What people ask about her line.

What is Diana Nyad's character arc?

She set a record swimming around Manhattan, failed at the Cuba to Florida crossing at twenty eight, left it for thirty three years, failed three more times in two years at sixty one and sixty two, and swam it on the fifth attempt at sixty four.

Did Diana Nyad swim from Cuba to Florida?

She completed the crossing over about fifty three hours on 2 and 3 September 2013, at the age of sixty four, on her fifth attempt. Guinness World Records later withdrew its recognition of the swim, and it has never been formally ratified.

Why was Diana Nyad's record disputed?

Guinness World Records withdrew its initial recognition of the 2013 swim, citing incomplete observer logs and other irregularities. This page records both the swim and the withdrawal, and does not attempt to settle the question either way.

How many times did Diana Nyad try the Cuba swim?

Five. Once in 1978, ending after about forty two hours; twice in 2011, ending after twenty nine and forty one hours; once in 2012, ending after three days; and the fifth, completed in September 2013.

How old was Diana Nyad when she swam to Florida?

Sixty four. She was born on 22 August 1949 and completed the crossing on 2 and 3 September 2013. Her first attempt at the same swim was in 1978, when she was twenty eight.

What else has Diana Nyad swum?

She swam twenty eight miles around Manhattan in record time in 1975, and from Bimini Island in the Bahamas to Florida in 1979, the year after her first unsuccessful Cuba attempt.

What books has Diana Nyad written?

Other Shores in 1978, Basic Training for Women in 1981, Boss of Me in 1999 and Find a Way in 2015, which is her account of the five attempts at the Cuba to Florida crossing.

Where does this timeline of Diana Nyad's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Diana Nyad isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to her.

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Sources

Diana Nyad, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
Guinness World Records, withdrawal of recognition for the 2013 Cuba to Florida swim, citing incomplete observer logs.
Publisher records for Other Shores, Basic Training for Women, Boss of Me and Find a Way.