{"id":1677,"date":"2023-05-31T22:08:07","date_gmt":"2023-05-31T22:08:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/swimswam-brings-nyads-eventual-comeuppance-a-little-closer-2\/"},"modified":"2024-11-19T18:39:48","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T18:39:48","slug":"swimswam-brings-nyads-eventual-comeuppance-a-little-closer-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/swimswam-brings-nyads-eventual-comeuppance-a-little-closer-2\/","title":{"rendered":"SwimSwam Brings Nyad\u2019s \u2018Eventual Comeuppance\u2019 A Little Closer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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What I Loved About The Article<\/h5>\n

It\u2019s a significant step toward what one legit best-of-the-\u201970s marathon swimmer called Nyad\u2019s \u201ceventual comeuppance.\u201d I\u2019m grateful SwimSwam was willing to risk Nyad\u2019s wrath by publishing it.\u00a0 And I appreciate all the time and effort journalist Riley Overend devoted to researching and writing the piece.<\/p>\n

Other than a few 2013 articles just after Nyad\u2019s crossing, this is only the second by someone outside of the marathon swimming community who takes Nyad skeptics seriously.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The first was Irv Muchnick\u2019s 2019 article, \u201cMy Diana Nyad Problem \u2014 And Ours.\u201d<\/a> However, SwimSwam\u2019s piece is the first to devote significant space to multiple Nyad lies and address questions about the biopic.<\/p>\n

Not to mention that Overend spoke to marathon swimmers other than Steven Munatones. I\u2019ve spent years begging journalists and event organizers to do that. I love how open-water swimmer and political science professor Loren King thoughtfully and lucidly explains the issues and connects them to a sport the biopic directors understand:<\/p>\n

Climbing and marathon swimming share a common ethic. We look after each other, and we\u2019re honest and transparent about how we do a route. That\u2019s why the choice of Nyad for a biopic is so disappointing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Two Things I Don\u2019t Love About The Article<\/h5>\n
    \n
  1. Statements that give a misleading sense of the percentages of Nyad skeptics and non-skeptics among experienced marathon swimmers<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Overend writes that \u201csome\u201d marathon swimmers remain skeptical while \u201cothers believe [Nyad\u2019s] a victim of intense scrutiny that is only amplified by ageism, sexism, and homophobia.\u201d That may be true, but it\u2019s misleading, like saying some people live in North Dakota<\/a> and others do not, giving the false impression that North Dakotans and non-North Dakotans exist in roughly equal numbers.<\/p>\n

    Until SwimSwam published the article, I knew of only one person within the sport who actively supported Nyad<\/a>. Now I know of two. I suspect a handful of others would come to her defense.<\/p>\n

    However, the majority of experienced marathon swimmers would not. Of those, some believe she may have swum from Cuba to Florida under her own power, and others don\u2019t. But all believe she\u2019s a charlatan to one extent or another.<\/p>\n

    So, it would have been more accurate to write, \u201cMany within the sport still accuse her of fraud while a few believe she\u2019s a victim of [insert unsubstantiated allegations here].\u201d Which brings us to\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Unsubstantiated Allegations Against Nyad Skeptics<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Overend calls on accomplished marathon swimmer Jaime Monahan<\/a> to represent believers:<\/p>\n

      I think some people are upset, like \u201cOh, I\u2019ve swam even more than that, I should have a movie.\u201d A lot of it is kind of ageism, even misogyny, I think even homophobia comes into play.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

      None of it is misogyny, jealousy, ageism, and homophobia \u2014 a subset of Nyad fans\u2019 default attacks<\/a> against her critics. Those fans have no evidence for their claims other than that Nyad happens to be a lesbian senior citizen who may or may not have swum from Cuba to Florida.<\/p>\n

      Nyad\u2019s supporters could just as easily allege that her detractors hate anyone who has short hair and wears powder-blue pantsuits. But everyone would recognize that as nonsense. And it wouldn\u2019t generate enough anger. So, Nyad\u2019s devotees conjure allegations they know will fill true believers with righteous indignation.<\/p>\n

      Monahan goes on to say:<\/p>\n

      They try to be very factual in what they\u2019re attacking, but I think that it\u2019s, \u201cThis 64-year-old woman can\u2019t do it.\u201d It\u2019s just a little jealousy and a lot of different factors.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

      In other words, unsubstantiated accusations are good; facts are bad.<\/p>\n

      So, let\u2019s return Lance Armstrong\u2019s yellow jerseys and forget about the people he tried to destroy; release Elizabeth Holmes from prison and let her get back to her blood-testing machine; and kick President Biden out of the Oval Office so we can install our rightful leader, Donald J. Trump. [End sarcastic rant.<\/em>]<\/p>\n

      I agree with Monahan about one thing: \u201cWe should be lifting each other up, not pulling people down.\u201d She ought to share that sentiment with Diana Nyad, who rarely mentions another swimmer without denigrating them or their achievements. Rather than honor the six women who preceded her around Manhattan, Nyad tries to erase them from history<\/a>. Rather than support other women athletes, she mocks their appearance<\/a> and gloats over<\/a> their failures. And rather than celebrate the great marathon swimmers of the 1970s, she claims she was the greatest<\/a> of them all.<\/p>\n

      Speaking of the \u201970s, that\u2019s when Diana began dreaming of a self-reverential movie. \u201cI\u2019ve written a screenplay based on my life,\u201d she said in 1978.<\/a> \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like Rocky. And the happy ending is the Cuba swim.\u201d Diana thinks she deserves this film, just like she was entitled to that crossing. \u201cI own it,\u201d she said<\/a> before abandoning attempt number three. \u201cI worked so damn hard for it. I deserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n

      So, she pretends nothing\u2019s wrong, while she posts clips about her shoes<\/a>, her living room<\/a>, and invading her ex-lover\u2019s home<\/a>.<\/p>\n

      \u201cTrust and believe she aint [sic<\/em>] losing any sleep over any of it,\u201d said a Facebook user<\/a> responding to the comments of Nyad\u2019s doubters.<\/p>\n

      But I ain\u2019t ready to trust or believe any such thing.<\/p>\n

      Nyad\u2019s policy has always been to ignore the skeptics, publicly anyway, so we can\u2019t know how well she sleeps. But you have to wonder about someone who so often trumpets the soundness of her repose:<\/p>\n