New Evidence That Steven Munatones’ Nonsensical Openwaterpedia Vandalism Makes Sense

Steven Munatones used Openwaterpedia to do more than ratify Diana Nyad’s crossing and make her look like the best marathon swimmer of the 1970s. He fabricated records for himself and another marathon swimmer who had no idea what Steven was up to.

Diana Nyad, Bonnie Stoll, and Steven Munatones, during a phone conference at Munatones’ home in Huntington Beach, CA, on September 10, 2013. They attempted to quell doubts about Nyad’s crossing. Notwithstanding Nyad’s declarations of success, the attempt failed. Sound familiar? Complete clip here. Via Reuters/Pond5.

Almost six months ago, the World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) announced an investigation into my allegations that Steven Munatones vandalized Openwaterpedia to benefit Diana Nyad.

In an earlier post, I wrote that WOWSA’s investigation likely took a week or two. Had WOWSA exonerated Munatones, they’d have said so.

Instead, the organization appears to have made a deal with Steven: If you leave quietly, we won’t publish our findings.

WOWSA couldn’t continue functioning with a co-owner they knew had falsified thousands of Openwaterpedia pages to benefit a swimmer he revered.

So, on May 18, WOWSA’s three owners — Steven Munatones, Antonio Argüelles, and Quinn Fitzgerald — dissolved the company by filing a Certificate of Termination with the California Secretary of State.

They also signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement; we won’t see a report any time soon.

Absent WOWSA’s findings, here are more examples of Steven using Openwaterpedia to fabricate documentation, including multiple records for a body of water no one has ever crossed.

First, though, let’s turn to a more familiar channel:
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New Lies, Old Lies, And Movie News From Nyad’s “How She Does It” Interview

A two-month-old interview presents Diana Nyad just before she began trying to undo her lies. In fact, she takes some of her standard fabrications and makes them even more outrageous.

Investor Karen Finerman interviewed Diana in June for the How She Does It podcast. The episode went up Sunday. Here are the highlights, including some scoops about the movie.
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After Biopic Announcement, Diana Nyad Begins Covering Up Lies

With a month to go before screenings of NYAD begin, she tries to hide her lies and undo five decades of deceit.

By the time she’d reached her twenties, Diana Nyad knew she was worthy of a blockbuster. “I’ve written a screenplay based on my life,” she told the Miami Herald in 1978. “It’s kind of like Rocky. And the happy ending is the Cuba swim.”

After 45 years, Nyad’s Hollywood fantasy is about to come true. Nyad — starring four-time Oscar nominee Annette Bening and two-time Oscar recipient Jodie Foster, directed by Oscar winners Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi — begins screening at festivals next month.

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