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Jellyfish stings end swimming marathon attempt
Source: Agencies |
September 26, 2011, Monday
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Endurance athlete Diana Nyad ended her swimming ultramarathon from Cuba to Florida yesterday after medics warned that another painful sting from a Portuguese Man o' War could be life-threatening, according to her team members.
Nyad was swollen from multiple stings to her face and body, according to team member Vanessa Linsley.
Linsley said: "She is pissed. Nobody blames her. There is not anything that can change this. This is nothing to do with swimming capabilities. You cannot control mother nature."
The 62-year-old swimmer had completed 79 kilometers of the 166km journey across the Florida Straits. She soldiered on despite the injuries, at one point wearing a swimming cap over her face with holes cut for her eyes and mouth to prevent further stings.
But around 11:30am, medics warned that toxins from the stings were building up and another sting could be serious, Linsley said. She said Nyad was getting out of the water and was surrounded by her support team.
Nyad was making her second attempt in as many months at the Cuba-Florida crossing, a lifelong dream she first tried as a 28-year-old in 1978, when she swam inside a shark cage for about 42 hours before ending the attempt.
A cageless attempt last month ended after 29 hours when, gasping for breath, Nyad quit following an asthma attack she blamed on a reaction to a new medicine.
Earlier yesterday, Nyad received oxygen and a steroid shot from her doctors, and was treading water while she recovered from the stings.
At that time, her team said a so-called "staged swim record" rather than a nonstop record would still be valid as long as she was on the boat only for treatment and not to rest.
Nyad was swollen from multiple stings to her face and body, according to team member Vanessa Linsley.
Linsley said: "She is pissed. Nobody blames her. There is not anything that can change this. This is nothing to do with swimming capabilities. You cannot control mother nature."
The 62-year-old swimmer had completed 79 kilometers of the 166km journey across the Florida Straits. She soldiered on despite the injuries, at one point wearing a swimming cap over her face with holes cut for her eyes and mouth to prevent further stings.
But around 11:30am, medics warned that toxins from the stings were building up and another sting could be serious, Linsley said. She said Nyad was getting out of the water and was surrounded by her support team.
Nyad was making her second attempt in as many months at the Cuba-Florida crossing, a lifelong dream she first tried as a 28-year-old in 1978, when she swam inside a shark cage for about 42 hours before ending the attempt.
A cageless attempt last month ended after 29 hours when, gasping for breath, Nyad quit following an asthma attack she blamed on a reaction to a new medicine.
Earlier yesterday, Nyad received oxygen and a steroid shot from her doctors, and was treading water while she recovered from the stings.
At that time, her team said a so-called "staged swim record" rather than a nonstop record would still be valid as long as she was on the boat only for treatment and not to rest.
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