In his August 2023 “On NYAD: An Open letter to the marathon swimming community,” Evan Morrison said that his “general view” of Nyad’s Cuba-Florida crossing hadn’t changed in a decade:
Incidentally, here’s what I wrote after the conference call of September 10, 2013, in which Diana and her team answered questions from a panel of marathon swimmers and administrators (including myself):
While many questions about Diana’s swim remain to be addressed, I have not yet seen any evidence to suggest that Diana did not do as she is claiming — swim from Cuba to Florida. However, because of the repeated physical contact with her crew in putting on her stinger suit, I consider it an ‘assisted’ swim – the third after Walter Poenisch and Susie Maroney.
Some may find this surprising, but my general view has not changed from 10 years ago — except now, with far more documentation, far fewer questions “remain to be addressed.”
He was right; he spent the 10 years after Nyad’s 2013 crossing questioning her claims and supporting other skeptics. That he would argue the opposite transcends hypocrisy — “surprising” doesn’t come close. It’s as if Greta Thunberg began saying that climate change was a hoax, Jane Goodall turned out to hate chimps, or Kermit the Frog joined the Proud Boys.
Continue reading “Evan Morrison’s Decade Of Doubt”
