American endurance swimmer, Diana Nyad is nearing the end of her record-breaking swim from Cuba to Key West, Florida. Reports are saying Nyad is five miles away from her goal. Her swim could end by this afternoon. The 64-year-old was hindered in previous attempts to swim the 103-mile wide Florida Straits by bad weather and jellyfish stings. Nyad has a support team helping to keep her out of danger as well as relaying her progress to the media. Nyad is wearing a special mask made of silicone to protect her face from large moon jellyfish.
The large moon jellyfish have been spotted in areas close to where Nyad is swimming. The mask will shield her face from stings. This is Nyad's fifth attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida. Her fourth try at the swim was in August of 2012. About 41 hours into the swim, Nyad was pulled out of the water after encountering large swells and jellyfish. Her first attempt was in 1978 with the use of a shark cage. This year's swim began on Saturday morning. Nyad set out with five support boats to give her food and water.
In order for her swim to count Nyad must never touch any of the support boats surrounding her. Nyad's support team is posting updates to her website. One of which read, "Diana is feeling very strong and very coherent. She is joking for the first time all day. The only concern is that she is throwing up everything she eats."
"I am about to swim my last two miles in the ocean. This is a lifelong dream of mine and I'm very, very glad to be with you," read today's statement on Diananyard.com. With only two miles to go Nyad could realize her dream by late afternoon.
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