{"id":683,"date":"2019-10-22T18:26:06","date_gmt":"2019-10-22T18:26:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/2019\/10\/22\/nyad-at-the-ebell-part-1-the-best-on-planet-earth\/"},"modified":"2024-12-04T17:18:38","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T17:18:38","slug":"nyad-at-the-ebell-part-1-the-best-on-planet-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nyadfactcheck.com\/annex\/nyad-at-the-ebell-part-1-the-best-on-planet-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"Nyad at the Ebell, part 1: The Best on Planet Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Monday, October 7, 2019, Diana Nyad spoke at the Ebell Club of Los Angeles for its 125th Anniversary Opening Day Lunch. \u201cCome and meet this extraordinary woman,\u201d reads the online invitation,<\/p>\n

\u2026and hear her story. On the 125th Anniversary of the Ebell, the courage, determination and resilience of Diana Nyad are an inspiration to us all. (Ebell of L.A.<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

My son Noah and I attended. Afterward, I began writing up the event. Only after finishing did I realize what I\u2019d really been writing about, so I added the following preamble.<\/p>\n

PREAMBLE<\/p>\n

The crux of Nyad\u2019s presentation \u2014 as it is with much of her writing and public speaking \u2014 was her attempt to erase from history many of the great women swimmers of the past.
\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI became, in the 1970s,\u201d Diana told her mesmerized audience,<\/p>\n

\u2026the best ocean swimmer in the world. I held all the major records on planet Earth, out in the open sea.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But Diana Nyad never held a single major record \u201cout in the open sea.\u201d What\u2019s more, she has never come close to being the best marathon swimmer of any<\/em> decade. In other words, while speaking to members of an organization dedicated to the advancement and empowerment of women, Diana Nyad sought to obliterate the accomplishments of all of the genuinely great women swimmers of the 1970s \u2014 and of many decades before and since.<\/p>\n

You won\u2019t, of course, hear about any of those women from Ms. Nyad.<\/p>\n

You won\u2019t hear about Lynne Cox, Tina Bischoff, Wendy Brook, Cindy Nicholas, and Penny Dean \u2014 the five women who set English Channel records during the 1970s. Nor will you hear that Nyad failed every time she tried to complete the preeminent marathon swim on the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Penny Dean<\/a><\/em><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

You won\u2019t hear about Corrie Dixon-Ebbelaar or Sandra Bucha, the two athletes who consistently trounced Nyad on the pro racing circuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/p>\n\"\"<\/p>\n
Sandra Bucha<\/a><\/em><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

And, because Nyad claims to be the first woman to circle Manhattan Island, you won\u2019t hear about the six great swimmers who preceded her \u2014 Ida Elionsky, Mille Gade, Lottie Schoemmell,\u00a0 Lillian Garrick, Anne Priller Benoit, and Diane Struble.<\/p>\n

What you will hear from Diana Nyad is that she was the greatest marathon swimmer in the world \u2014 despite all evidence to the contrary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/p>\n\"\"<\/p>\n\"\"<\/p>\n
Lottie Schoemmell<\/a><\/em><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/p>\n\"\"<\/p>\n\"\"<\/p>\n
Diane Struble<\/a><\/em><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

. . .<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t blame you if you still don\u2019t believe me. After all, Diana has been telling versions of this story for almost fifty years. The truth should have caught up to her by now, but it hasn\u2019t, so let\u2019s take a closer look at all the major ocean swims of planet Earth.<\/p>\n

If we define such swims as events of over ten miles that saw at least ten successes through 1979, we get the following list:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
EVENT<\/strong><\/td>\nno. 0f\u00a0 successes
\nduring the \u201970s<\/strong><\/td>\n		all successes
\nthrough 1979<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
English Channel<\/a><\/td>\n198<\/td>\n400<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Catalina Channel<\/a><\/td>\n27<\/td>\n55<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cook Strait<\/a> (New Zealand)<\/td>\n9<\/td>\n11<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bristol Channel<\/a> (Great Britain)<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n11<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Strait of Gibraltar<\/a> (Spain \u2013 Morocco)<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n32<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\n

Table 1: The greatest marathon swims on the planet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Diana Nyad never completed any of the above swims.
\nShe attempted only one, the English Channel.
\nShe took three shots and didn\u2019t get across once. <\/strong><\/p>\n

In fact, during her entire career, Nyad only completed two major swims that anyone would consider records. Neither swim, however, was \u201cin the open sea.\u201d In 1974, she swam Lake Ontario<\/a> north to south, becoming the first person to do so. The following year, she became the 7th woman to swim around Manhattan<\/a>, swimming the fastest time to date.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Detail from Other Shores<\/em><\/a>, Nyad\u2019s first memoir, in which she recognizes two of the women who preceded her around Manhattan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nyad relished the fame her Manhattan record brought. The 7th-woman part, however, didn\u2019t sit well. So, by 1981, she began claiming to be first<\/a>. She continues to spread this nonsense despite conclusive evidence that she knows the truth.<\/p>\n

So, we can add Nyad\u2019s Manhattan Island swim to the long list of accomplishments she steals from other women and claims as her own.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
1978 press release in which Nyad claims to have been named World Champion all five years that she raced professionally. She won the crown once \u2014 in 1974 \u2014 on points.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

END PREAMBLE<\/p>\n

What Brings You Here Today?<\/h3>\n

My son Noah and I pulled up across the street from the Wilshire Ebell, a \u201cmagnificent Italian Renaissance-style complex<\/a>\u201d that sits on Wilshire Boulevard about 4 miles west of downtown Los Angeles. We crossed the street and walked through the Ebell\u2019s arched entryway into an older L.A. \u2014 grassy interior courtyard, burbling fountain, large rooms with antique furniture resting on age-darkened wood floors.<\/p>\n

Concerned that Diana might recognize me, I hoped to maintain a low profile. As we walked the pathway toward the grand front hall, the impossibility of remaining incognito became obvious. According to its website, the Ebell Club<\/a> is \u201can educational and philanthropic organization founded by women, for women.\u201d Of the 175 or so people in the audience, I counted four men, the two of us included. Noah and I stood out like chicken nuggets at a PETA picnic.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Ebell historic photo via Demigoddess Chronicle\u2019s review of \u201cShe\u2019s Beautiful When She\u2019s Angry.\u201d<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We spotted the check-in table and joined the line. While we waited, Noah asked if I\u2019d prepared an answer in case anyone asked why we were there. I\u2019d thought about it but hadn\u2019t settled on a response.<\/p>\n

Laurie Schecter, the events coordinator, was working the queue. She stopped beside us just before we reached the front. \u201cSorry for the wait,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, what brings you here today?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI, uh . . . I\u2019m a former marathon swimmer,\u201d I replied,\u00a0 \u201cand I\u2019ve followed Diana Nyad\u2019s career for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

. . .<\/p>\n

Why was I really there? Because I\u2019m a former marathon swimmer, and I\u2019ve followed Diana Nyad\u2019s career for a long time.<\/p>\n

And I wanted to see how Diana works her magic in front of a live audience. How does she convince a roomful of successful, influential, intelligent people to believe her bullshit? Having investigated her claims for over three years, and having unearthed one lie after another after another, I hoped to leave with a better sense of how she works her con.<\/p>\n

And maybe she\u2019d ad-lib some new lies on the spot. Or, even better, perhaps she\u2019d surprise us with some treasures she saves for live audiences \u2014 a kind of Diana Nyad Private Reserve.<\/p>\n

. . .<\/strong><\/p>\n

We chose an empty table near the far back corner. By the time lunch started, eight women had joined us, three of them recognizable actresses. I\u2019m not going to name them, because I don\u2019t want to embarrass anybody \u2014 other than Diana, of course, but that\u2019s probably impossible.<\/p>\n

I will say that directly opposite me sat an actress who co-starred in one of my favorite films of all time. It involves time travel and whales. In my notebook, I wrote down my favorite line from the movie. I added an arrow pointing across the table, then showed it to Noah surreptitiously. I needed him to know that only feet separated us from cinema royalty.<\/p>\n

While we waited for dessert, the actress in question leaned across the table. She wanted to talk to me!<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, why are you guys here?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

. . .<\/strong><\/p>\n

I did eventually tell two people the whole story: Lilly and Anne (not their real names), the two women sitting directly to my left.\u00a0When Nyad finished her program, Lilly turned to me and asked, \u201cSo did she lie?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. Mostly, she told her usual ones, but she added a few gems \u2014 like how, in the seventies, she held all the major records in the open sea.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t hear her say that,\u201d she responded. So I pointed to where I\u2019d written it down in my notebook. \u201cBut I didn\u2019t hear it,\u201d she repeated. She couldn\u2019t believe that Nyad might have spent the last hour lying to us.<\/p>\n

Anne had a different take. She grew up in New York, her father a New York City cop. \u201cHe taught me,\u201d she said, \u201cnot to believe everything people say.\u201d She got that Nyad was somehow off. \u201cI\u2019ve heard other athletes speak,\u201d she said. \u201cThey all showed some humility.\u201d She left it there.<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t, so I added, \u201cAnd Nyad showed none.\u201d Anne nodded.<\/p>\n

Lilly\u2019s credulity made sense, though. Like most of the people in the room, she knew little about Nyad and less about marathon swimming. She was hearing all of Nyad\u2019s slick stories for the first time.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019d heard them all before. \u201cThe box jellyfish\u2026emits the most potent venom on Earth. Most people die instantaneously.\u201d Ah, that one again<\/a>. Most people survive box jelly stings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hadn\u2019t swum a stroke in 30 years.\u201d Yes, she had<\/a>. She completed at least two swims during those 30 years, including the 1996 Alcatraz SharkFest. Presumably, she trained a bit too.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd my mother was French.\u201d No, she wasn’t<\/a>. <\/em>She lived in France between the ages of 3 and 15, but she was American.<\/p>\n

So, I listened for the new things \u2014 like \u201call the major records on planet Earth.\u201d Or like the glowing review that, according to Ms. Nyad, the New York Times<\/em> gave her recent show.<\/em>\u00a0\u201cThere was no review,\u201d I told Lilly.<\/p>\n

She took out her phone to check. A few minutes later, I asked her if she\u2019d found it. \u201cNo, but she wrote an op-ed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, that she did, and it will come up in part two. First, though, let\u2019s uncork a bottle of that Diana Nyad Private Reserve and get to work.<\/p>\n

About Those Records\u2026<\/h3>\n

I became, in the 1970s, the best ocean swimmer in the world. I held all the major records on planet Earth, out in the open sea.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One could write a book about the selfishness and dishonesty of that statement. We could start by naming all the great swimmers \u2014 particularly the female swimmers \u2014 Nyad\u2019s declaration erases from history.<\/p>\n

For now, though, let\u2019s just look at a single swim, the majorest of major marathons: the English Channel. If Nyad held \u201call the major records on planet Earth,\u201d the EC would have to be among them.<\/p>\n

In the 1970s, four great swimmers broke the women\u2019s English Channel record. Three of them bettered the overall mark. Another great athlete became the first woman to complete a 2-way crossing.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a list of all the English Channel records that women set in the 1970s:\u00a0[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n