{"id":4036,"date":"2024-05-13T22:08:51","date_gmt":"2024-05-13T22:08:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/?p=4036"},"modified":"2025-05-01T15:15:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T15:15:17","slug":"diana-nyads-not-so-magic-marker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/diana-nyads-not-so-magic-marker\/","title":{"rendered":"Diana Nyad&#8217;s Magic Marker"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>Background<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>When <a href=\"https:\/\/equalvisibilityeverywhere.org\/our-team\/\">Equal Visibility Everywhere<\/a> founder Dr. Lynette Long <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/marker\/2017.05.31.application.pdf\">applied for a Nyad Marker<\/a> in 2017, she intended it primarily to honor Diana Nyad\u2019s 2013 Cuba-Florida crossing; the first two-thirds of the <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/marker\/2017.05.31.application.pdf\">original marker text<\/a> addressed the Cuba swim.<\/p>\n<p>However, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/regulations\/florida\/Fla-Admin-Code-Ann-R-1A-48-005\">Florida State Historical Marker Program has a regulation<\/a> that states<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>No individual may be mentioned in a marker text until thirty years after the death of said person or thirty years after the significant event with which that person is associated\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.<em><a href=\"#_edn1\" name=\"_ednref1\"><sup>[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>So, Dr. Long began changing the text to sidestep the 30-year rule. For example, the original text began: \u201cOn September 2, 2013, at the age of sixty \u00adfour, Diana Nyad staggered onto Smathers Beach in Key West, Florida.\u201d The text the Marker Council finally approved in 2018 begins: \u201cAs a child growing up in Fort Lauderdale, Diana Nyad was a champion pool swimmer.\u201d<!--more Continue reading \u2192--><\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t know the exact text as it currently stands, so I\u2019ll use <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/marker\/2018.02.21-dn-marker-text.pdf\">the 2018 version<\/a>. That text includes four of Nyad\u2019s accomplishments. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/m9tjlKDfy2s?si=v6YpigS9rgwbC_6Q&amp;t=3624\">According to Dr. Long<\/a>, all four have been \u201cvalidated by the State of Florida.\u201d<a href=\"#_edn2\" name=\"_ednref2\"><sup>[2]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4039\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4039\" style=\"width: 840px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4039 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/fraud-collage-1024x506.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"840\" height=\"415\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/fraud-collage-1024x506.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/fraud-collage-300x148.jpg 300w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/fraud-collage-768x380.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/fraud-collage-1536x760.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/fraud-collage-2048x1013.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/fraud-collage-1200x593.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4039\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Above, clockwise from top left:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/1978.08.02.sjostrom_fort_lauderdale_news_complete.jpg\">Fort Lauderdale News<\/a>, August 2, 1978; <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/1978.09.11.philadelphia_inquirer_kinsella.jpg\">Philadelphia Inquirer<\/a>, September 11, 1978; <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/2023.08.30.inflated-claims.pdf\">Los Angeles Times<\/a>, September 3, 2023.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"roots\">Analysis<\/h2>\n<h3>A Champion&#8217;s Roots<\/h3>\n<pre><strong>\u201cAs a child growing up in Fort Lauderdale, Diana Nyad was a champion pool swimmer.\u201d<\/strong><\/pre>\n<p>The marker text doesn\u2019t say what it means to be a &#8220;champion pool swimmer,&#8221; but Diana does:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In 1971, she <a href=\"https:\/\/vault.si.com\/vault\/1971\/12\/06\/she-takes-a-long-swim-off-a-short-pier\">told <em>Sports Illustrated<\/em><\/a> that she won six 100-yard backstroke state champion\u00adships in her last three years of high school. However, the <a href=\"https:\/\/fhsaa.com\/\">Florida High School Athletic Association<\/a> has never held more than <a href=\"https:\/\/fhsaa.com\/documents\/2023\/11\/2\/Swimming_Diving_Girls_2022_2023.pdf\">one championship per year<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>She said that \u201cby the age of 14,\u201d she had become <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/32288876#t=5m52s\">the best backstroker in the state<\/a>. In 1964 and 1967, she <em>did<\/em> win <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/1964-1967-state-championship-results.jpg\">Florida High School Class A titles<\/a> in the 100-yard backstroke. However, in neither year was she the fastest high school backstroker in Florida.<a href=\"#_edn3\" name=\"_ednref3\"><sup>[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/li>\n<li>She said she was \u201cthe Florida State High School 100 and 200 meter Backstroke Champion,\u201d even though U.S. high school competitions don\u2019t include those events.<a href=\"#_edn4\" name=\"_ednref4\"><sup>[4]<\/sup><\/a><\/li>\n<li>She said she won a national championship and <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/details_world_record.html\">set a world record in the 100-meter backstroke<\/a>. Yet, the closest Nyad came to either was a <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/when-nyad-went-national\/#nationals\">19<sup>th<\/sup>-place finish at the 1966 AAU Nationals<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<pre><strong>\u201cShe later trained off of [Las Olas] beach...\u201d<\/strong><\/pre>\n<p>No evidence \u2014 no newspaper reports, videos, photos, etc. \u2014 substantiates Nyad&#8217;s contention that she trained in the ocean off Las Olas beach.<\/p>\n<p>However, plenty of evidence shows that she didn\u2019t learn about the sport of marathon swimming until at least two years after graduating high school and leaving Florida.<\/p>\n<p>At 18, Nyad entered Atlanta\u2019s Emory University, later moving on to Lake Forest College near Chicago. While she was attending Lake Forest, Buck Dawson, then Executive Director of Fort Lauderdale\u2019s International Swimming Hall of Fame, introduced Nyad to marathon swimming. Nyad <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/1975.11.16.ft_lauderdale_news_the-greatest.jpg\">told the <em>Fort Lauderdale News<\/em><\/a> that Dawson<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>came to me in the spring of 1970 [Nyad turned 20 in August 1969] and said, \u201cYou\u2019re unhappy with your swimming career because you didn\u2019t make the Olympic team. Why don\u2019t you come up to Ak-o-mac and train?\u201d <em>[<a href=\"https:\/\/www.campakomak.com\/\">Ak-O-Mak is a summer sports camp<\/a> for girls in Canada. Dawson\u2019s wife Rosemary directed it from 1941\u20131991.]<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>A May 1970 letter Dawson sent to swim promoter Joe Grossman <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/documents\/letters\/1970.05.11.dawson-grossman.pdf\">confirms the timing:<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>We are training a marathon swimmer to re-inject some glamour into the races this summer. She is a Greek girl (Greek father, American mother), beautiful, determined. . . . Even though she speaks perfect English, I think we can honestly list her as Greek and play up the glamour in our promotion. <em>[Nyad\u2019s biological father wasn\u2019t Greek, though <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/aris-nyad-timeline\/\"><em>her stepfather was<\/em><\/a><em>.]<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In neither of her memoirs does Nyad mention practicing in the sea off Fort Lauderdale. However, in her first memoir, <em>Other Shores<\/em>, <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/othershores0000nyad\/page\/20\/mode\/2up?q=michigan\">she mentions training<\/a> in Canadian lakes, and in pools in Illinois and Michigan.<\/p>\n<p>Nyad occasionally tells <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/documents\/summaries\/nyad-v-nyad-marathon-swim-origin-story.pdf\">other versions<\/a> of how she discovered marathon swimming, but she\u2019s always 20 or older.<\/p>\n<pre><strong>\u201c...and became one of the best ocean swimmers in the world.\u201d<\/strong><\/pre>\n<p>Diana Nyad was <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/details_greatest.html\">never one of the best<\/a> ocean swimmers in the world. She hasn\u2019t completed any of <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/details_greatest.html#majors\">the world\u2019s major solo ocean swims<\/a>. She attempted the English Channel \u2014 <em id=\"ederle\">the<\/em> iconic solo swim \u2014 three times and failed each time.<\/p>\n<p>Like many \u201cfacts\u201d about Diana Nyad, her status as \u201cone of the best in the world\u201d originated with <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/anatomy-of-a-1978-nyad-press-release\/\">her and her promoters<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Lake Ontario and Manhattan (and Gertrude Ederle)<\/h3>\n<pre><strong>\u201cAt age 24, she was the first person to swim north to south across Lake Ontario. The record swim took 18 hours and 20 minutes.\u201d<\/strong><\/pre>\n<p>The Lake Ontario swim was the first leg of her attempt to complete a two-way crossing. Just after the swim, Nyad <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/1974.09.02.no-prize.jpg\">told <em>The Globe And Mail<\/em><\/a> that she passed out about two hours into the second leg.<\/p>\n<p>Two years later, Nyad lied about that to <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gertrude_Ederle\">Gertrude Ederle<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 Olympic gold medalist, holder of multiple world records, and the first woman to swim the English Channel.<\/p>\n<p>Ederle\u2019s first Channel attempt failed after her trainer, thinking she was in trouble, jumped into the water and grabbed her.<\/p>\n<p>In legitimate marathon swims, touching another person means immediate disqualification. The trainer\u2019s \u201chelp\u201d ended Ederle\u2019s attempt.<\/p>\n<p>Nyad wanted to show how much she had in common with Ederle. To do that, she had to lie:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI heard what happened to you on your first Channel attempt,\u201d Diana tells Miss Ederle, \u201cSomeone touched you and you were disqualified.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe same thing happened to me once,\u201d Diana says. \u201cI\u2019d just swum 32 miles across Lake Ontario and I was going for a double crossing and was signaling for my cup. Another swimmer who\u2019d got in the water to pace me thought I was calling for help; she started to grab me. I tried to push her away and they disqualified me. After 20 hours. I\u2019d been swimming 20 hours!\u201d <em>[See page three of <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/ederle\/1976.08.1.daily-news_sun.pdf\"><em>\u201cChallengers of the Channel.\u201d<\/em><\/a><em>]<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1021\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1021\" style=\"width: 533px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1021 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/gertrude-ederle-parade-3.jpg\" alt=\"Welcome-home parade for Gertrude Ederle after she became the first woman to swim the English Channel. New York City, 1926.\" width=\"533\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/gertrude-ederle-parade-3.jpg 533w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/gertrude-ederle-parade-3-267x300.jpg 267w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 533px) 85vw, 533px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1021\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Above:<\/strong> On August 27, 1926, New York City welcomed home Gertrude Ederle three weeks after she became the first woman to swim the English Channel. She finished in a time almost two hours faster than the fastest man. Her triumph changed the way many people thought about women in sports.<\/p>\n<p>Diana Nyad saw Ederle\u2019s feat only in terms of herself. \u201cIf I get to the Florida coast,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/1978.06.26.new-times-dudar.pdf\">Nyad said<\/a> in 1978, \u201cthat will be one of the most historic moments in sports. I am not going to compare it to Lindbergh, but it is certainly going to be bigger than Gertrude Ederle finishing the English Channel.\u201d Image <a href=\"https:\/\/charlespaolino.com\/tag\/theresienstadt\/#attachment_1972\">via Charles Paolino<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<pre class=\"marker-text\"><strong>\u201cIn 1975, 26-year-old Nyad swam around Manhattan Island in 7 hours, 57 minutes, breaking the previous record by over an hour.\"<\/strong><\/pre>\n<p>In doing so, Nyad became the seventh woman to complete the swim.<\/p>\n<p>In 1981, during her <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/diananyadsbasict00nyad\"><em>Basic Training For Women<\/em><\/a> book tour, she began saying she was first and trying to erase from history the <a id=\"jupiter\" href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/details_manhattan.html\">six pioneering women who preceded her<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Swimming To Jupiter<\/h3>\n<pre><strong>\u201cIn 1979, she swam 102.5 miles from Bimini in the Bahamas to Jupiter, Florida, in just over 27 hours.\u201d<\/strong><\/pre>\n<p>When measured the way most legiti\u00admate marathon swims are measured \u2014 via the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/longswims\/posts\/pfbid02mQ52UUG1HSpT8NRT4FHdpmyzx3t1ZMd9UJ3UQHiNLy3gj4d2XsQQnY7cLqJRwxudl\">\u201cshortest swimmable path\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Nyad\u2019s Bahamas\u2013Florida swim was a 60-mile, cur\u00adrent-aided crossing. The day after the swim, the Associated Press <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/bimini\/1979.08.20.ap-bimini-60-miles.jpg\">got the distance right<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/article\/sioux-city-journal-nyad-conquers-60-mile\/147206164\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4097 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1979.08.21.60-mile-detail-1024x92.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"840\" height=\"75\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1979.08.21.60-mile-detail-1024x92.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1979.08.21.60-mile-detail-300x27.jpg 300w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1979.08.21.60-mile-detail-768x69.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1979.08.21.60-mile-detail-1536x138.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1979.08.21.60-mile-detail-1200x107.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1979.08.21.60-mile-detail.jpg 1597w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/a>The following day, the headline on the <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/bimini\/1979.08.20.latimes-nyad-89-miles.jpg\">front page of the <em>Los Angeles Times<\/em><\/a> read:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/bimini\/1979.08.20.latimes-nyad-89-miles.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-4098\" src=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1979.08.20.latimes-nyad-89-miles-1024x147.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"840\" height=\"121\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1979.08.20.latimes-nyad-89-miles-1024x147.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1979.08.20.latimes-nyad-89-miles-300x43.jpg 300w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1979.08.20.latimes-nyad-89-miles-768x110.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1979.08.20.latimes-nyad-89-miles-1200x173.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1979.08.20.latimes-nyad-89-miles.jpg 1370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Two years later, Nyad began promoting her ostensible 89-mile Bahamas\u2013to\u2013Florida swim <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/article\/the-pittsburgh-press-swimmer-diana-nyad\/147312898\/\">as a world record<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>That still wasn&#8217;t enough, though, so she added 13.5 more miles:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/article\/the-los-angeles-times-diana-nyad-reviews\/147206890\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4120\" src=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1995.03.05.latimes-102.5-longest-detail2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"841\" height=\"93\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1995.03.05.latimes-102.5-longest-detail2.jpg 895w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1995.03.05.latimes-102.5-longest-detail2-300x33.jpg 300w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1995.03.05.latimes-102.5-longest-detail2-768x85.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>You can hear her make the 102.5-mile claim at the <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/32288876#t=19m45s\">Philadelphia GEOFest<\/a>. You\u2019ll also find Nyad\u2019s fabrication in the <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/bimini\/2013.09.03.miami-herald-102.jpg\"><em>Miami Herald<\/em><\/a>, <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\"><em>The Washington Post<\/em><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/12\/04\/magazine\/marathon-swimmer-diana-nyad.html?unlocked_article_code=1.rU0.gFWk.U-4iUVMqQGLn&amp;smid=url-share\"><em>The New York Times<\/em><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/michaelshermer.com\/articles\/just-keep-swimming\/\"><em>The Wall Street Journal<\/em><\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/article\/the-cincinnati-enquirer-nyads-102-mile\/147189528\/\"><em>USA Weekend<\/em><\/a>. And you&#8217;ll find it in <a href=\"http:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/bimini\/world-record-examples.pdf\">numerous books<\/a>, the authors of which must have assumed that someone somewhere at some time validated Nyad\u2019s claim. (See the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Woozle_effect#:~:text=According%20to%20Donald%20G.,become%20urban%20myths%20and%20factoids.\">Woozle Effect<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>Nyad half-heartedly addresses the falsehood in her 2015 memoir, <em>Find a Way<\/em>. However, she still calls it a record:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The final distance, point to point, 102.5 miles, must be taken with a grain of salt, though, as the direct distance from Bimini straight across to Miami is sixty miles. . . . It\u2019s a fine achievement for me, and my Team. It\u2019s a world distance record. (<em>Find a Way<\/em>, 2015, p. 91).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<pre><strong>\u201cBut it was Nyad\u2019s first attempt to become the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida, a 42-hour endeavor in 1978, which secured her place in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.\u201d<\/strong><\/pre>\n<p>The International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (IMSHOF) doesn\u2019t induct athletes for failed crossings, so the organization doesn\u2019t mention Nyad&#8217;s 1978 attempt in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imshof.org\/_files\/ugd\/bd1926_3378ca7f06204128a43ab7621e154cbf.pdf\">her biography.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Nor does it mention her 2013 attempt. IMSHOF biographies only include verifiable swims.<\/p>\n<pre><strong>\u201cShe pursued the dream of a Cuba-to-Florida swim for 35 years, attempting the 110-mile swim five times. In 2013, after 52 hours, 54 minutes of continuous swimming, Nyad\u2019s tenacity prevailed. She made history as the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage.\u201d<\/strong><\/pre>\n<p>Nyad can\u2019t prove she swam the entire distance under her own power. Moreover, almost as soon as she finished the crossing, she began lying about it, and she never stopped:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The two independent observers (Roger McVeigh and Janet Hinkle) took detailed notes <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/report\/2013.09.04.munatones-nyad-emails-ordered2.jpg\">every minute of the crossing<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The observer logs contain multiple gaps of up to <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/diana-nyad-didnt-complete-a-legitimate-crossing-heres-why\/\">nine hours<\/a>.<a href=\"#_edn5\" name=\"_ednref5\"><sup>[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Every time I stopped for that little sip of fuel <strong>for three minutes<\/strong>, get myself together, I\u2019m being dragged due east, and this whole swim is about <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Q-sGbaEtcno?si=yL5j8750KhK8B5pH\">north, north, north, north, north.<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Nyad\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/gimme-a-break\/\">breaks averaged 14 minutes<\/a> or more. No legitimate swimmer stops that long. Even more puzzling: During those breaks, she didn&#8217;t slow down and managed to continue heading north, north, north.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>You can never touch the boat or get out on the boat or touch any other person. So you are <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/FGPPuTuEwMQ?si=hLVXk6ThjaPagO1L\">in the sea on your own<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In a legal marathon swim, touching the boat or another person means immediate disqualification. Nyad knows this. So, after the crossing, she said she didn\u2019t touch anyone. She also claimed she got into and out of her jellyfish suit by herself. Images emerged in 2022 showing <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/touching-collage-lo2-scaled.jpg\">crew members touching her throughout<\/a> the crossing and helping her with the suit.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n<p>Despite Nyad\u2019s multiple appeals for official recognition, no legitimate governing organization has ratified or otherwise validated her swim. Most recently, she approached the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.openwaterswimming.com\/\">World Open Water Swimming Association<\/a>, but its advisory board <a href=\"https:\/\/www.openwaterswimming.com\/wowsa-advisory-boards-decision-on-diana-nyads-2013-cuba-to-florida-swim\/\">declined to ratify the crossing.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Since Nyad\u2019s swim remains unverified, any Cuba\u2013Florida crown she claims, including \u201cfirst crossing without a shark cage,\u201d holds as much water as her 102.5-mile world record, her 37 hours in a <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/details_first_pro.html\">48-degree lake<\/a>, her <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/anatomy-of-a-1978-nyad-press-release\/\">five world championships<\/a>, her sixth-place finish <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/t3aDz6y6agM\">at the Olympic Trials<\/a>, her claim to be the best marathon swimmer <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/details_greatest.html#bestof\">of the 1970s<\/a>, her 100% <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5hc0NbzVdk4&amp;t=514s\">box-jellyfish-sting death rate<\/a>, etc.<\/p>\n<h3>A Testament to the Human Spirit<\/h3>\n<pre><strong>\u201cAs she emerged from the sea in Key West, she declared: \u2018Never ever give up.\u2019 Nyad\u2019s story serves as inspiration to millions around the world. The Fort Lauderdale native\u2019s achievements are a testament to the power of the human spirit.\u201d<\/strong><\/pre>\n<p>Diana Nyad is not a Fort Lauderdale native. She was born <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/documents\/1949.new-york-births.jpg\">Diana Sneed in New York City in 1949<\/a> and moved to Palm Beach around 1953. Her family, which by November of \u201953 <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/images\/aris\/1953.12.03.PBP_Aris_Marriage_detail.jpg\">included Diana\u2019s stepfather<\/a>, Aristotle Nyad, <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/images\/1956.06.28-moved-summer-of-1956.jpg\">moved to Fort Lauderdale<\/a> in 1956. Diana would have been six or seven.<\/p>\n<p>Compare that to what she wrote in her essay, <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@diananyad\/remembering-9-11-f934b1566ee\">\u201cRemembering 9\/11\u201d<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I feel the deep pain of a New Yorker, born there, my first seven years in Manhattan, and later twenty-five more formative years there. It will always be my heart place and now I am not there. I can\u2019t help. I am helpless.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Those are not the words of a Fort Lauderdale native. They <em>are <\/em>the words of someone <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/diana-nyad-tackles-9-11-with-predictable-results\/\">using a national tragedy to aggrandize herself<\/a>, the kind of person <em>New York Times<\/em> journalist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/09\/08\/nyregion\/9-11-new-york-remember.html?unlocked_article_code=1.qE0.73Rl.BEyVFVjLuvUa&amp;smid=url-share\">Dan Barry calls<\/a> a \u201c9\/11 narcissist, the hero of [her] own narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If Diana Nyad\u2019s achievements testify to any sort of \u201chuman spirit,\u201d it\u2019s a spirit of egotism and fraud, of repeating falsehoods so often and with such confidence that she deceives almost everyone.<a href=\"#_edn6\" name=\"_ednref6\"><sup>[6]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-4050\" src=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/holmes-nyad-armstrong-lo-copy-1024x757.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"840\" height=\"621\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/holmes-nyad-armstrong-lo-copy-1024x757.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/holmes-nyad-armstrong-lo-copy-300x222.jpg 300w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/holmes-nyad-armstrong-lo-copy-768x568.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/holmes-nyad-armstrong-lo-copy-1536x1135.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/holmes-nyad-armstrong-lo-copy-1200x887.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/holmes-nyad-armstrong-lo-copy.jpg 1729w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h5>See also:<\/h5>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/diana-nyad-historical-marker-timeline\/\">&#8220;Diana Nyad Historical Marker timeline&#8221;<\/a> \u2014 from Dr. Long&#8217;s first application (May 2017) to the Fort Lauderdale Parks, Recreation, &amp; Beaches Board&#8217;s withdrawal of support.<\/p>\n<h5>Footnotes<\/h5>\n<div style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref1\" name=\"_edn1\">1.<\/a> A three-member Council oversees Florida\u2019s Historical Marker program. Public Historian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?kgmid=\/g\/1hg4k0b17&amp;hl=en-US&amp;q=Barbara+E.+Mattick&amp;kgs=590e54167a50f7d4&amp;shndl=17&amp;source=sh\/x\/kp\/osrp\/m5\/1\">Dr. Barbara Mattick<\/a> was a member of the Council when it first considered Dr. Long\u2019s application for a Nyad Marker. After reading the original text, she was concerned that <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/marker\/2017.11.11-13.mattick-to-hart.jpg\">the Nyad Marker didn\u2019t comply with the rule<\/a>. In a message to then Marker Program Coordinator Michael Hart, she wrote:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">As the marker is proposed, \u00a0its main focus is on Diana Nyad\u2019s successful swim from Cuba to Florida . . . . I suggest that more be added to the text about her other amazing marathon swimming feats, which took place over 30 years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Mattick suggested adding a second side to the Marker for Nyad\u2019s earlier feats. No one on the Council seemed to doubt Nyad\u2019s claims about those endeavors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref2\" name=\"_edn2\">2.<\/a> More recently, Alissa Lotane, director of Florida\u2019s Division of Historical Resources,\u00a0 suggested that the approved text may change. \u201cWe are looking into the marker,\u201d Lotane said in an email, \u201cand will make a determination on the text before it is fabricated.\u201d That\u2019s a perfect way to put it; any text that makes it onto the Marker will be fabricated in more ways than one.<a href=\"#_ednref2\" name=\"_edn2\"><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref3\" name=\"_edn3\">3.<\/a> In 1964, <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/1964.05.03._state_meet_gainesville.jpg\">Nyad won <\/a>with a time of 1:10.4. However, <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/1964.05.10.state-2A-championships.jpg\">Pat Fleming took the 2A division\u00a0<\/a>in 1:07.3. In 1967,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/sick\/1967.05.14.Fort_Lauderdale_News.jpg\">Nyad won<\/a> in 1:06.7, but in other races that year, her teammate\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/faw\/1967.07.fisher-106.jpg\">Nancy Fisher went 1:06.0<\/a><u>,<\/u> and 12-year-old\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/faw\/1967.03.tullis-105-1.jpg\">Libby Tullis went 1:05.1<\/a>. Nyad didn\u2019t qualify for the Nationals in either of those years, so all of the girls and young women who did were faster than Nyad.\u00a0 See results for <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/documents\/nationals\/1964.05.sc-nationals-results.pdf\">1964<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/documents\/nationals\/1967.05.sc-nationals.pdf\">1967<\/a>. (I found a few of the competitor\u2019s ages. They ranged from 13 to 18.)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref4\" name=\"_edn4\">4.<\/a>\u00a0Nyad has claimed to be the \u201c100 and 200 meter backstroke champion\u201d many times, including in<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Her first memoir, <a href=\"http:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/images\/1978.other-shores-best-in-florida-p17.jpg\"><em>Other Shores<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<li><em>The Miami Herald <\/em>(<a href=\"http:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/1976.12.19.miami-herald-marathon-woman1.jpg\">page 1<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/articles\/1976.12.19.miami-herald-marathon-woman2.jpg\">page 2<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1978\/06\/18\/archives\/marathon-woman-diana-nyad.html?unlocked_article_code=1.nU0.e6WX.b-iBzwzKlU8I&amp;smid=url-share\"><em>The New York Times<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2014\/02\/10\/diana-nyad-profile-cuba-florida-swim\"><em>The New Yorker <\/em><\/a>(<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20231103142022\/https:\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2014\/02\/10\/diana-nyad-profile-cuba-florida-swim\">archived<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>However, high schools in the United States conduct their meets in yards, not meters, and <a href=\"https:\/\/swimswam.com\/nisca-announces-2022-2023-swimming-and-diving-high-school-all-americans\/\">don\u2019t include a 200-backstroke<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref5\" name=\"_edn5\">5.<\/a> Janet Hinkle and Roger McVeigh had no experience or training as swim observers. By selecting neophyte observers for the most important swim of her life, Nyad guaranteed skepticism would follow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref6\" name=\"_edn6\">6.<\/a> See Tom Stafford&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/future\/article\/20161026-how-liars-create-the-illusion-of-truth\">&#8220;How liars create the \u2018illusion of truth'&#8221;<\/a> (bbc.com); Brian Resnick&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20210505105436\/https:\/www.vox.com\/science-and-health\/2017\/6\/17\/15817056\/alex-jones-megyn-kelly-lies-nbc-psychology-illusory-truth\">&#8220;Alex Jones and the illusory truth effect, explained&#8221;<\/a> (vox.com); and Evan Osnos&#8217; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2022\/01\/03\/dan-bongino-and-the-big-business-of-returning-trump-to-power\">\u201cDan Bongino and the Big Business of Returning Trump to Power\u201d<\/a> <em>(The New<\/em> Yorker). Osnos cites Texas A&amp;M rhetoric professor <a href=\"https:\/\/liberalarts.tamu.edu\/communication\/profile\/jennifer-mercieca\/\">Jennifer Mercieca<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p>Repetition, as every cheerleader and every dictator learns, trains the neural networks to make some thoughts more durable than others. &#8220;The more we hear something, the more \u2018sticky\u2019 it becomes,&#8221; Mercieca said. &#8220;If we see something a lot, then it feels true.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last month, the Fort Lauderdale City Commissioners approved a Florida State Historical Marker for Diana Nyad. A close analysis of the text shows how a Nyad Marker will taint the Marker program and its legitimate honorees by celebrating a serial liar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"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":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-florida-state-historical-marker"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Diana Nyad&#039;s Magic Marker - Diana Nyad Fact Check Annex<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Fort Lauderdale City Commissioners approved a Florida State Historical Marker for Diana Nyad. 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