{"id":192,"date":"2018-03-22T19:47:24","date_gmt":"2018-03-22T19:47:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/2018\/03\/22\/nyads-lies-part-2-obviously-the-greatest-diana-nyad-and-narcissistic-personality-disorder\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T16:30:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T16:30:07","slug":"nyads-lies-part-2-obviously-the-greatest-diana-nyad-and-narcissistic-personality-disorder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/nyads-lies-part-2-obviously-the-greatest-diana-nyad-and-narcissistic-personality-disorder\/","title":{"rendered":"NYAD\u2019S LIES, PART 2: Obviously the Greatest \u2014 Diana Nyad and Narcissistic Personality Disorder"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/nyads-lies-part-1-from-bimini-to-the-big-apple-the-lies-in-find-a-way\/\">Part 1<\/a> | <span style=\"color: grey;\">Part 2<\/span> | <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/nyads-lies-part-3-an-expert-planter-of-beliefs-diana-nyad-con-artist\/\">Part 3<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>We know that Diana Nyad lies. She lies frequently, brazenly, and \u2014 in all likelihood \u2014 compulsively. But why?<\/p>\n<p>She lies because she can\u2019t live without adoration. To receive that adoration, Nyad must be the best \u2014 must be \u201cepic\u201d \u2014 at everything she does. She must swim epically, play squash epically, even wake up epically.<\/p>\n<p>But no one can be epic at <em>everything<\/em>, so Nyad must act and write and talk as if she is.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Diana Nyad&#039;s Favorite Word (with Marcia Cross)\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dLVTAmreZIY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Above:<\/strong> Diana Nyad\u2019s favorite word. With <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ctTwEcZVpmE&amp;t=2s\">Marcia Cross\u00a0at LiveTalksLA<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Why does she need so much adoration? Maria Konnikova \u2014 journalist, professional poker player, and holder of a psychology PhD from Harvard \u2014 provides the answer in her 2011 article <a href=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/artful-choice\/less-than-artful-choices-narcissistic-personality-disorder-according-to-donald-trump\">&#8220;Less Than Artful Choices: Narcissistic Personality Disorder According to Donald Trump.&#8221;<\/a> Konnikova compares the utterances of the not-yet-president Donald Trump to the diagnostic criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD).* You can plug in \u201cNyad\u201d wherever you see \u201cTrump,\u201d and, <em>voil\u00e1<\/em>, the story still works.<\/p>\n<div style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">*As per the <em>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders <\/em>(DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association.<\/div>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>At the time Konnikova wrote <a href=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/artful-choice\/less-than-artful-choices-narcissistic-personality-disorder-according-to-donald-trump\">&#8220;Less Than Artful Choices,&#8221;<\/a>\u00a0she wasn\u2019t sure if the upcoming version of the DSM would retain Narcissistic Personality Disorder as a named condition. Luckily for us, it did.<\/p>\n<p>The new criteria contain essentially the same ingredients, so I kept the DSM-IV\u2019s more succinct categories. You can find a comparison between the DSM-IV and the DSM-5 <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20190307215332\/https:\/\/www.nyu.edu\/gsas\/dept\/philo\/courses\/materials\/Narc.Pers.DSM.pdf\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Nyad loves to talk and write about herself, so she gives us plenty of data. What&#8217;s more, she confuses self-absorption with self-examination: \u201cEach extreme moment,\u201d Nyad proclaims, \u201cdemanded that I dissect the mind more carefully and with each new dissection I grew\u201d <em>(Other Shores,<\/em> p. 152). Nyad\u2019s frequent self-described \u201cextreme moments\u201d \u2014 as well as some tamer ones \u2014 lead to multiple incisions, exposing plenty of meat to inspect for signs of NPD.<\/p>\n<pre>Abbreviations:\r\n\u2192 FAW = <a href=\"https:\/\/www.betterworldbooks.com\/product\/detail\/find-a-way-the-story-of-one-wild-and-precious-life-9780385353618\"><em>Find A Way<\/em><\/a>, by Diana Nyad\r\n\u2192 MW  = <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/1978.11.marathon_woman_viva.pdf\">\"Marathon Woman\"<\/a>, by Jane Shapiro\r\n\u2192 OS  = <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/offer-listing\/0394501756\/ref=tmm_hrd_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&amp;condition=used&amp;qid=1516656705&amp;sr=8-3-fkmr1\"><em>Other Shores<\/em><\/a>, by Diana Nyad\r\n<\/pre>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"s1\">\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. An exaggerated sense of self-importance\u00a0<\/strong><strong>(e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Nyad believes herself superior to most mortals, and she doesn&#8217;t mind saying so:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>In my society . . . where people have nearly completely forgotten the beauty of the power that their bodies wield, I stand out as a prime physical specimen. (OS, p. 102)<\/p>\n<p>On August 13th of this year, standing on the Cuba coast about to set off . . . I was in the best physical shape of anybody on the face of the earth. (PBS Interview: <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/5PYuay4PzNM?t=1m14s\">clip<\/a>\/<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/video\/chicago-tonight-september-3-2013-web-extra-diana-nyad\/\">complete<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>When I swim up the North Sea or down the Nile, or across Lake Ontario, I feel like I am the [goddess] Diana who represents freedom to the women waiting on the shore. (OS, p. 95)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Her Cuba swim (or just the idea of it) was epic and mythic and something only the incredible Diana Nyad could do:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>A Hellenic feat, an outrageous feat, it fulfills my fantasies! Longest open-water swim ever. . . . It\u2019s so obviously the greatest endurance feat in history. (<a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/ms_aug_1978.jpg\">Ms.<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>The Cuba swim is the greatest endurance feat in human history. But if anyone can do it, I can. (<a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/1978.07.09.Fort_Lauderdale_News_Sun.jpg\">&#8220;Diana Prepares . . .&#8221;<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pure, authentic, Greek dream!\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CNvTTel_Bl0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption\">\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Above:<\/strong> Livin\u2019 the dream, pure Greek version \u2014 with <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/92319747\">Catherine Opie at the Hammer Museum, December 2013.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"s1\">\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In her 2015 memoir <em>Find A Way<\/em>, Nyad describes the results of a study that tested its subjects\u2019 ability to cope with physical stress. Guess who won the experiment?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>First, [UC San Diego psychiatrist Dr. Martin Paulus] indicates, very far down on the graph, the dots that represent the control group, thousands of anonymous volunteers. . . . Most are clumped near the bottom of the chart, indicating these people have done very poorly. . . .\u00a0 Next, a group significantly above the control group, has done much better; these are the marines. The next grouping is a big bump up from that: Navy SEALS. Then Dr. Paulus points high up to the right, almost off the computer screen. This, he says, is me. (FAW, p. 224)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Such an inflated ego necessarily hides profound self-loathing. Nyad battles to repress this. Occasionally, it escapes:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>[As] the big [60th] birthday neared, [Nyad] became overwhelmed with regret. . . . Just second-guessing everything. It was ruthless. . . . This was just a constantly revolving regret and self-bashing: I really don\u2019t deserve this. I\u2019m really not that good. SOMEBODY\u2019S GOING TO FIND OUT I\u2019M A FRAUD. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.out.com\/entertainment\/sports\/2012\/07\/09\/diana-nyad-swimmer-cuba-lesbian\">The Swimmer<\/a>, my caps)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p id=\"failure\" class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"s1\">\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In 1976, Nyad made three attempts to become the first woman to complete a double-crossing of the English Channel, the difficulty of conquering which, she writes, was \u201chighly overrated.\u201d (OS, p. 123)<\/p>\n<p>Nyad didn\u2019t get across\u00a0once. After describing the episode in <em>Other Shores<\/em>, she contorts her failure into triumph:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I realized that it is mechanically so easy to walk away from victory swelling with pride and optimism, believing unswervingly in yourself. Walking away from defeat the same way is a true challenge. A champion rekindles enthusiasm, regains confidence, and is willing to set difficult goals for herself again, even after defeat.<\/p>\n<p>Late evening, September 7. British Airways from London to Kennedy. My pulse is racing, my adrenaline is pumping, I am smiling uncontrollably and I can\u2019t possibly sit still. Push-ups in the aisle, hyped conversation with anyone and everyone. I feel ecstatically free. The words I am known for quoting to interviewers are flashing through my mind. Life is passing me by. There isn\u2019t much time. I have some seventy-five years to live and a third of them are behind me. I feel pressured to do everything, to know everyone, to explore every potential, to press every extreme, high and low. My fervor is renewed. (p. 123)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>With that, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/sports\/diana-nyad-at-age-61-prepares-for-second-attempt-to-swim-from-cuba-to-key-west\/2011\/05\/26\/AGNj44BH_story.html?tid=ss_mail\">\u201cthe greatest endurance swimmer in the world\u201d<\/a>* waves goodbye to the English Channel and never returns.<\/p>\n<div style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">*According to <em>Washington Post<\/em> sportswriter Sally Jenkins, one of Lance Armstrong\u2019s most prominent apologists. Article <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/2011.05.26.wapo-jenkins-diana-nyad.pdf\">archived here.<\/a><\/div>\n<h3><strong>2. Preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Nyad begins planning the Cuba swim because she wants to \u201caccomplish the unimaginable\u201d:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I want to do something unprecedented in the world of sports \u2014 something so outrageously difficult it would go unmatched for many, many years. I want to bid my love affair with marathon swimming a spectacular farewell. I want to accomplish the unimaginable. (OS, p. 154)<\/p>\n<p>To my imagination, this swim has developed in the genre of the old Greek myth \u2014 grandeur and excellence lie at its core. (OS, p. 174)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"I wanna&#039; be BOLD\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ne0LK0kxQhA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption\">\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Above:<\/strong> Livin\u2019 large <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/KQEH_20130917_070000_Tavis_Smiley\">with Tavis Smiley, September, 2013<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>To accomplish such a swim, her shoulders must be <em>\u00fcber<\/em> powerful:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The power of my shoulders, the \u00fcber recognition of the mechanics of my efficient stroke, made me giddy with joy. . . . To feel this superior level of strength, to revel in this exceptional state of fitness, was simply sublime. (FAW, p. 133)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>She has become unimaginably more \u201caccepting\u201d (of what, I\u2019m not sure):<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>In my sixties, my will is as fierce as it ever was. But I am at the same time infinitely more accepting, this swim laying bare the crux of those two attributes in harmonious concert. (FAW, pp. 240-41)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Her friendships must also be \u201clegendary,\u201d residing as they do on the same mythological plane as her athletic endeavors. Of her connection with Bonnie Stoll, her best friend, Nyad effuses:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>It\u2019s a friendship straight out of legendary lore, where the heroics are traditionally reserved for men. Two devoted equals. Each one true to herself. Each one true to the other. (FAW, p. 233)<\/p>\n<p>This swim has come to symbolize many things to me, among them the Homeric strength of our friendship. (FAW, p. 247)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Nyad is not only in the best shape of anyone \u201con the face of the earth,\u201d but she sees herself as the best friend on that very same planet:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>On the people score, I gave myself a high grade. . . . My relationships are my lifeblood, and I nurture them with all my heart. If only my epitaph will read, \u201cThe best friend on Earth.\u201d (FAW, p.\u00a0 116)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2563\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 432px;\">\n<p><figure style=\"width: 432px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amberwilkie.com\/2010\/09\/doggie-day-swim-alexandria-event-photographer\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/20100907_dog_swim_0074-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"432\" height=\"305\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo courtesy of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amberwilkie.com\/2010\/09\/doggie-day-swim-alexandria-event-photographer\/\">Amber Wilkie<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n<h3><strong>3. Believes she is \u201cspecial\u201d and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>From Jane Shapiro\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/1978.11.marathon_woman_viva.pdf\">Marathon Woman<\/a>\u201c:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Nyad likes being with people who are celebrated for doing something large\u2026. Loves going up to Ali and asking him what he feels like when he\u2019s fighting, floating around the ring as in a dream. Loves thinking about Heifetz playing Mozart, spacing out: just like her.<\/p>\n<p>One of her favorite anecdotes is about appearing at some big celebrity party wearing her shorts and her Lacoste T-shirt, and all the elegant people wonder, Uhhh Who\u2019s that? And then, just a little later, she is vindicated. Then everybody recognizes her, and an ironic comment is made on the rules of celebrity, wherein the moment of legitimacy is conferred, you become worthy of admiration even when you\u2019re the same person you were before. Nyad tells this story often and in several forms. In this year\u2019s version, she went to be a minor star at a celebrity fund raiser and Jacqueline Onassis cried, \u201cDiana Nyad!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>According to the DSM-5, someone with NPD makes \u201cexcessive reference to others for self-definition and self-esteem regulation.\u201d And so it goes with Diana Nyad. She <em>knows<\/em> she is extraordinary because the press \u2014 not to mention Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama \u2014 tells her so:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>There was an empty field across from the cottage, and when I walked outside just after daybreak, it looked like a war zone of correspondents over there. It had rained heavily just before dawn, so they had all pitched tents to cover their cameras; I beheld a semicircle of ABC, NBC, CBS, ESPN, FOX, foreign outlets, et al. Hillary Clinton wrote, \u2018Feels like I swim with sharks, but you actually did it!\u2019 Hillary also sent me a handwritten note, signed \u2018Onward!\u2019 President Obama tweeted: \u2018Congratulations @DianaNyad. Never give up on your dreams.\u2019 (FAW, p. 277)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"CNN Wants to Cover Diana!\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YObjQM1bG9E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Above:<\/strong> \u201cThis is not just a sports story,\u201d etc. From <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/32288876\">Nyad\u2019s talk at Philadelphia GEOFest<\/a>, November 2011.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Lest we think Nyad swims solely for personal gain, she informs us that she\u2019s not interested in adoration from the commoners:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I am not doing this to be famous\u2026. I would like to be respected and well paid \u2014 maybe recognized in New York, by people who read. Respect. I\u2019m not doing it for street stuff, people saying, \u2018Heyyy, you\u2019re on television, right?\u2019 (MW)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"s1\">\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen it comes to the most daring of Earth\u2019s expeditions,\u201d writes Nyad, \u201csuccess always seems to come down to four factors.\u201d Factor number three is: \u201cSurround yourself with brilliant and honorable people\u201d (<em>FAW<\/em>, p. 225).<\/p>\n<p>From various places in <em>Find A Way<\/em>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cRich took his [shark] cage design to a\u00a0friend who is the <strong>best aluminum boat builder in the world<\/strong>\u2026.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>To help a problem shoulder, Nyad works with \u201c<strong>rock-star orthopedist Dr. Neal ElAttrache<\/strong> and <strong>superstar physical therapist Karen Joubert<\/strong>.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI will spend the month of April in Mission Viejo, California, where they host the <strong>greatest swimming facility in the United States<\/strong>, along with the <strong>greatest amateur swimming coach in the United States, Mark Schubert<\/strong>.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>John Bartlett, her navigator, is \u201c<strong>a veritable genius<\/strong>.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThe <strong>world-renowned shark diver Aussie Luke Tipple<\/strong> captains the Shark Team.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Nyad engages <strong>Dr. Angel Yanagihara, \u201cthe world\u2019s leading [box jellyfish] expert<\/strong>. When our Team approaches her for an education, we have no idea what a brilliant mind we are about to encounter.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Hyperbole!!!\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5PYuay4PzNM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h3><strong>4. Requires excessive admiration<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Since Diana sees herself as extraordinary, admiration MUST follow.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I want to be known as the very best at something and have a reputation for that. I didn\u2019t say be the best because I\u2019ve been that for eight years. I said be known as the best. I feel that pressure very strong. (<a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/1978.06.16.miami_news.pdf\">Miami News<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>I want the American public to recognize me. I want to open a women\u2019s fitness center in Manhattan. I\u2019ve written a screenplay. I could make films.<br \/>\n<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>[All spring she told people about the Cuba swim:] . . . It\u2019s so obviously the greatest endurance feat in history . . . I want the American public to appreciate this. . .<br \/>\n<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>NBC has bought the exclusive rights. Everybody will cover this swim. (<a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/ms_aug_1978.jpg\">Ms.<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Nyad writes that her coach, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jack_Nelson_(swimmer)\">Jack Nelson<\/a>, admires her:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>He told me I could be anything I chose in this world, that I was smart and funny and a leader. (FAW,\u00a0p. 44)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Her mom treasures her:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I have no doubts that she adored me to the quick. From the moment she first held me in her arms\u2026until her last long gasp,\u2026I rocked her world with delight and pride\u2026. (FAW, p. 114)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm4295913\/?ref_=fn_al_nm_2\">Her nephew<\/a> idolizes her:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>[Tim is] not much of a crier, but he broke down when he said the thrill of his childhood was when Aunt Diana was coming to play with him. Then he cried again when describing what it was like now, to have this champion he had always read about come to life before his very eyes. (FAW, pp. 159-160)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Her <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/aris-nyad-timeline\/\">stepfather<\/a> exalts her:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>This man told me they went to dinner at Aris\u2019s house a few nights later\u2026.There were press clippings and photos of me all over the walls, from my marathon swimming days in the 1970s, and Aris was proud in telling them I visited him there all the time. (FAW, p. 31)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>And, when she completes a swim, her spectators worship her:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>They are always there. The men yell \u2018Bravo, Diana!\u2019 \u2018Fantastic!\u2019 \u2018Brave young woman!\u2019 And the women just stare. Incredulous, awe-filled, envious stares. The utter exhaustion, and the courage it conveys, seems to be an inspiration to everyone who witnesses it. (OS, p. 15)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3><strong>5. Has a sense of entitlement<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>While having difficulty getting visas for her and her crew in 1978 \u2014 and after having slandered Walter Poenisch, who had a close and friendly relationship with the Cubans and had completed the swim a month before \u2014 Nyad declares:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The Cubans owe me this swim. (<a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/1978.08.01.no-visas-cubans-owe-me.jpg\">Ft. Lauderdale News<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Of Penny Palfrey\u2019s 2012 attempt, Nyad writes:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I am anxious. Maybe even miffed. There is no logic to my thinking it isn\u2019t right for someone else to pursue my Dream. After all, it isn\u2019t my ocean. Nevertheless, it\u2019s only natural that our Team, wishing of course no harm to Penny, hopes she will fall short in the end.<\/p>\n<p>. . .<\/p>\n<p>Penny was rushed by speedboat to the closest hospital for the sting symptoms, and for that I felt empathy. But I admit I was relieved. As a matter of fact, that is a gross understatement. (FAW, p. 205)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In June of 2013, before Chlo\u00eb McCardel\u2019s Cuba attempt:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>As I did with Penny, I talk myself off a cliff. And when I answer the media . . . I do my best to find grace and sportsmanship. (FAW, p. 244)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"I deserve it!\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Cib4KXPyKOg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h3><strong>6. Selfishly takes advantage of others to achieve her own ends<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>\u201cNyad\u2019s inability to give up her dream may be less inspiring up close than afar,\u201d writes Elizabeth Weil in <em>The New York Times<\/em>. \u201cNyad is a superwoman, but she is also child-like. She can\u2019t cook or hold on to money. She exhausts herself with her own exuberance. She charms other people into taking care of her.\u201d <em>(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/12\/04\/magazine\/marathon-swimmer-diana-nyad.html\">Demons of the Sea<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>To watch Bonnie getting all the gear ready at that same three a.m., to see Mark heading down to the dock at that hour to get the boat prepped, for Angie to slide a pillow under my head that night on the shower floor when I can\u2019t stand any longer and can\u2019t even make it to the bed \u2014 their dedication brought me unspeakable comfort. (FAW, p. 167)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Nyad\u2019s account of one acolyte sounds like the description of a faithful dog:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>No matter how late we\u2019d sweep up onto the beach, no matter the middle of thunderstorms, standing there would be Kathy, devoted. . . . Each Mexico swim, at that last quarter mile, I\u2019d look up, and the sight of my sentry, standing loyal at the ready. (FAW, p. 126)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Jean Goldin is a psychiatric nurse and one of Nyad\u2019s inner circle:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<div style=\"text-indent: 20px;\">It used to be, [Goldin] says, that Diana cared for no one; for most of her life people didn\u2019t matter. Then she began to call once in a while; then she began to notice I\u2019d always be there. . . .<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-indent: 20px;\">I [Shapiro] see that she is preoccupied with Diana Nyad. . . . <em>\u201cThis woman was sent into my life for a reason.\u201d<\/em><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-indent: 20px;\">In any case, Nyad has here what she requires: nice, patient people who are willing to cook, worry, drive the boat, and be uncomfortable and bored, on her behalf, for long stretches of time; people who are entirely preoccupied with her well-being. (MW)<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><strong>7. Lacks empathy<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>A genuine narcissist can\u2019t empathize with others. In their world, only one person matters.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Each time a swimmer would make an attempt at the Cuba-to-Florida crossing and fail, I would do a little happy dance, alone in my living room. (FAW, p. 117)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Happy Dance!\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/o55UMQjl5ps?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Above:<\/strong> Diana dances for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=id2Q_TpgAx4\">Future Farmers of America<\/a>, October 2016. See also this <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/V9O_jo1EXJA?si=f2vuV87tFO2IgfwR\">Happy Dance compilation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>When a severe storm puts the lives of her crew in danger, Nyad is forced to think of someone other than herself:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The focus of the mission is entirely on the swimmer, but we are duty-bound to take responsibility for all the people way out here with us. Steve, for all his time out on the open waters of the world, is sincerely afraid this night. No Coast Guard vessel, no helicopter, could make it out to us on this night. I admit I\u2019m not of a mind-set to worry about the safety of the crew. (FAW, p. 213)<\/p>\n<p>So now we\u2019re out of the water again on this attempt. . . . I\u2019m doubled over, rocking, trying to stay sane and warm until the next decision \u2014 which for some reason is for the first time in my swimming career out of my hands \u2014 is made. The swim is now in the staged category. I\u2019m not even in the water, dictating my own fate. This is an unmitigated disaster.\u00a0 (FAW, p. 216)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>(On her fifth and final attempt, Nyad vowed this wouldn&#8217;t happen again: &#8220;Emergency shark episode is the only reason I would be allowed out of the water until shark divers deem it safe to return. No storm will disrupt the swim. We have a definite storm contingency.&#8221; See <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/report\/rules\/2013.09.01.dianas-rules-hinkle-lo.jpg\">&#8220;Diana&#8217;s Rules&#8221;<\/a> from observer Janet Hinkle&#8217;s original log, 1 Sep 2013.)<\/p>\n<p>Nyad uses people as if they\u2019re a renewable resource that will return to care for her year after year after year. Not all do:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The Sollingers are on their third year of . . . sacrifices now. They\u2019ve also taken a heavy hit this year with losses to their water-sports business at the hands of Hurricane Sandy. While they\u2019re working overtime to rebuild their company, they\u2019re also slaving to organize and execute these long days out on the water for me. At some point, Mark has no more to give. I should have seen it coming. Maybe I did but, self-obsessed, I pressed on. (FAW, p. 233-34)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3><strong>8. Is often envious of others or believes others to be envious of her<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Like admitting failure, Nyad rarely admits to envy. After all, she\u2019s superwoman. Others should envy her, not the other way around.<\/p>\n<p>Family matters, devoted fathers in particular, sometimes pierce the facade:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I\u2019ve always been envious of my friends with warm, loving, protective, decent human beings for fathers. Seeing Bonnie\u2019s father, Herbert, tall and strong and yet gentle and sensitive, envelop Bonnie in the warmest bear hug and tell her he loves her, I was mystified as to what that must feel like \u2014 that trust, that unconditional affection from a father. Same with Candace\u2019s father, Floyd. His blue eyes sparkled as they tracked Candace crossing a room. What would that be, to experience that kind of abiding devotion from a father? (FAW, p. 33)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Mainly, however, Nyad revels in the envy that she imagines others, particularly women, feel toward her:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<div style=\"text-indent: 20px;\">The women seem to envy the adventure, the extreme. They seem to thrill to this one young woman\u2019s courage, as if she were carrying the burden of all womanhood\u2019s ill-spent time. As if she were exploring her potential a thousandfold for the women who can\u2019t yet see how they might explore their own.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-indent: 20px;\">One of the strongest sensual memories I consistently have after the long swims is of the women on the shore. Wide-eyed, open-mouthed stares. Egyptian women, Italian women, Argentinian women staring in wondrous disbelief as if their souls are awakened by the power of my act. The desire is ablaze in their eyes, but they have not yet set themselves free. (OS, p. 91-92)<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><strong>9. Shows arrogant, haughty, patronizing, or contemptuous behaviors or attitudes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>When you come down to it, Nyad disdains everyone except those who will drop everything to care for her or those who can help increase her fame. Nyad certainly disdains her devotees: \u201cHer renderings of mystical, spaced-out Nyad fans are impeccable,\u201d writes Jane Shapiro, \u201ctypes who say I think you\u2019re healing me.\u201d (MW)<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>A woman asked me after a speech during the Cuba prep how I could train at this level, with the normal aches and pains that come at my age. I answered, \u2018Don\u2019t put your assumptions of what one is supposed to feel at my age on me. I defy those suppositions of limitations. If you feel aches and pains, say so. But I don\u2019t, and I refuse to follow your or anybody else\u2019s controlling and denigrating parameters of mediocrity.\u2019 (FAW, p. 222)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>She also disdains the press. \u201cDiana tells everyone about her preoccupation, the magnificence of the [Cuba swim],\u201d writes Jane Shapiro.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Nevertheless, some press lose track of the magnificence, which always provokes impatience, and often rage. &#8220;Time [magazine] asks me, &#8216;Lissen, we don\u2019t wanta send anybody \u2019cause all we want is a picture of the shark cage.&#8217; I just wanta say Fuck you and hang up. \u2018Cause I\u2019m not interested in the shark cage. I mean this is one of the great athletic events in history, and they want a picture of the shark cage.&#8221; (MW)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cShe has hung out in the water and posed for pictures,\u201d continues Shapiro,<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cdoing a slow crawl back and forth for twelve feet in front of delicate cameras with wide-angle lenses suspended in the water in clear plastic boxes. Every photographer who thought of that one,\u201d says Nyad, \u201cwas another genius.\u201d (MW)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"s1\">\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Nyad disdains anyone who dares cross her or <em>her<\/em> ocean. She was particularly arrogant toward Walter Poenisch:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I\u2019ve been calling the Swimming Hall of Fame about this guy who claims he\u2019s done some ninety-mile swim, and of course it\u2019s illegitimate, ridiculous. (<a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/ms_aug_1978.jpg\">Ms.<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>She disdains her crew . . .<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>It was Ms. Nyad, 28, who first gave up \u2014 weeping, swollen and screaming at her trainers Tuesday as they insisted she abandon the 103-mile crossing from Cuba to the Florida Keys. (<a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/1978.08.16.Cuba-Failure-stella-taylor-comparison.jpg\">Indiana Gazette<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>and Cuba . . .<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I used to say that I\u2019d never come back here. That it was the most boring place in the world. That it had no culture. I forget how beautiful it is. All these nice houses and trees. The air. It still has no culture,\u201d she laughs. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1978\/06\/18\/archives\/marathon-woman-diana-nyad.html\">New York Times<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>and other swimmers. Besides the \u201chighly overrated\u201d English Channel comment from earlier, we have the following episode of <em>\u00fcber<\/em>-patronization. During her appearance on the <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/5hc0NbzVdk4\">Wild Ideas podcast<\/a>, Nyad peruses her training logs in the back of <em>Find A Way<\/em> (at<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/5hc0NbzVdk4?t=20m10s\"> 20:10<\/a>) and concludes:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>There are a lot of people, and I mean this with all due respect, but I\u2019m at the extreme end of the sport. There are a lot of people who train for the English Channel and Catalina Island \u2014 very respectable swims! I respect anybody who\u2019s done any of them. But they\u2019re short.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wild Ideas: &quot;With All Due Respect&quot;\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gITwwV5eZjw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Finally, she feels contempt for the people who revere her:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<div style=\"text-indent: 20px;\">\u201c\u2018I go up to people all the time and I do usually make friends with them. I\u2019m so gregarious and friendly! And as soon as they call me back I never wanta see them.\u2019<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-indent: 20px;\">\u2018I know,\u2019 I say, \u2018you just want a moment.\u2019<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-indent: 20px;\">\u2018Yeah, I want a moment, but then later I\u2019m rude, I say, \u2018Where the fuck did you get my number!\u2019 They say, <em>\u2018You gave it to me yesterday,\u2019<\/em> you told me, \u2018COME OVER. NEVER CALL FIRST!&#8217;\u201d Nyad is screaming, a loud, funny, confused whine. \u2018And people come with their suitcases, they say, \u2018You said <em>stay with me anytime!\u2019<\/em><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-indent: 20px;\">\u201cAnd I say, \u2018<em>DON\u2019T<\/em> STAY WITH ME! I\u2019m busy\u2026.!&#8217;\u201d (MW)<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"s1\">\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I hope you\u2019ll stay with <em>me<\/em> until the third and final post in the &#8220;Diana\u2019s Lies&#8221; trilogy. We\u2019ll examine how Nyad mesmerizes the public and the press into embracing her despite her self-absorption and deceit.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Diana Nyad on &quot;The Other Shore&quot;\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1TfcOWxOaDI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nyad discusses \u201cThe Other Shore,\u201d Timothy Wheeler\u2019s documentary<br \/>\nabout his aunt Diana. \u201cIt\u2019s poetic, it\u2019s deep \u2014 what it is is my life.\u201d<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/video\/diana-nyad-press-conference-2013-swimmer-63-discusses-20144167\">Post-swim press conference, September 2013<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this second of three posts about Diana&#8217;s deceptions, we&#8217;ll look at <em>why<\/em> she can&#8217;t stop making stuff up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cuba-florida"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - 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