Diana Nyad Suffers Asthma Attack, Stops Key West Swim

by NowPublic Staff | August 9, 2011 at 10:52 am

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Diana Nyad Forced to Abandon Cuba-Key West Swim after 29 Hours

After 28 consecutive hours of swimming, marathon swimmer Diana Nyad suffered an asthma attack. She kept swimming for another hour, trying different stroke and rest combinations, before calling off her Havana-to-Key-West attempt.

She made it about halfway to her destination. Nyad was disappointed, saying, "It's hard, because I felt like I had it in me".

Diana Nyad told CNN, ""I just knew it wasn't mind over matter anymore. I was absolutely spent."

Of course, a shore to shore success would have been nice—it was what Diana wanted, passionately. There’s no sugar coating for that; her disappointment is real. But for her contemporaries whom she so specifically addressed, this was always about the attempt, this was always about reach…about the courage to risk wanting anything passionately again—or maybe even for the first time.

While Nyad didn't encounter any sharks, she did get to swim with a pod of dolphins.