NyadFactCheck
In search of the truth about Diana Nyad
Diana Nyad often claims that she was the greatest long-distance swimmer of the 1970s. She says this with such confidence and bravado that most people believe it. But Nyad was never close.
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The 1970s abounded with great marathon swimmers. Diana Nyad, however, was not one of them. Here are twelve who were. I’ll explain why below.
(Jay Slosberg) |
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(via ISHOF) |
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“I want to be known as the very best at something and have a reputation for that. I didn’t say be the best because I’ve been that for eight years.”
Diana Nyad, Miami News, 16 Jun 1978
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Well before bell-bottoms and the Bee Gees had gone out of style, Diana Nyad was calling herself the best marathon swimmer of the 1970s. A false claim, but tough to measure. Later, her best-of-the-decade assertions—and those of her publicists—evolved into some version of:
In the 1970s, she became known as the world’s greatest long distance swimmer. (diananyad.com)
Then, at a presentation in October 2019, she handed out a yardstick:
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. (Wilshire Ebell—audio clip)
With that, her claim became measurable.
If we define a major ocean swim of the 1970s as, say, a solo event of over ten miles with at least ten successes through 1979, we get the following list:
Major Ocean Swims | Successes through 1979 | Successes during the 1970s |
English Channel | 400 | 198 |
Catalina Channel | 55 | 27 |
Cook Strait (New Zealand) | 11 | 9 |
Bristol Channel (Great Britain) | 11 | 5 |
Strait of Gibraltar (Spain–Morocco) | 32 | 4 |
A major record “out in the open sea,” then, would be a record in any of those swims.
But Nyad never completed any of those swims, much less set records for them. Quite a leap between that and “I held all the major records on planet Earth.”
During Nyad’s entire career, she only set marks in three swims that anyone might consider major: In 1974, she swam Lake Ontario north to south, becoming the first person to do so; that same year, she also set a record in the Capri-Napoli race; the following year, she circled Manhattan in record time. Only Capri-Napoli, however, was “out in the open sea.”
In 1979, she completed a current-aided, warm-water crossing from Bimini to Florida. Again, though, not a major swim. So by her own measure, Nyad never came close to being the best long-distance swimmer in the world.
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Using Nyad’s criteria, we get eight nominees for The Greatest Marathon Swimmer of the 1970s. In alphabetical order, they are:
1976 | Catalina single |
1977 | Catalina double |
(1978 | Anacapa Island two-way—first Anacapa crossing ever and first double) |
1979 | first Catalina Island circumnavigation |
1971 | Catalina Channel at age 14 |
1972 | English Channel record |
1973 | another English Channel record |
1974 | Catalina Channel record |
1975 | first woman to swim Cook Strait |
| . . . and that’s just the first half of the first decade of Lynne Cox’s astounding career. For more, see this timeline of her swims.
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1976 | Catalina Channel record that still stands |
1977 | Catalina Channel two-way record that still stands |
1978 | English Channel in 7:40, the first sub-eight-hour EC crossing in history |
Dean’s time was more than an hour faster than anyone had swum before. She held the overall record for sixteen years and the women’s record for twenty-eight. Only one person owned an English Channel solo record longer: Matthew Webb, EC swimmer #1. | |
1979 | Women’s WPMSF champion. The 2nd place swimmer trailed Dean by more than 1000 points. |
Dean went on to coach many other marathoners, including Chad Hundeby, the swimmer who finally broke her overall record. |
1975 | English Channel two-way |
1979, 4 Aug | English Channel single |
1979, 19 Aug | English Channel two-way |
| In 1981, Erikson became the first swimmer to complete an English Channel three-way. |
1970 | third person to complete English Channel double |
1970 | North Channel (Ireland to Scotland, 22 miles) |
1971 | first person to swim around the Isle of Wight (56 miles/35 hrs. 10min) |
1971 | North Channel |
1975 | pulled from the water on 3rd leg of EC triple crossing attempt after having swum 52 hours |
1976 | English Channel twice (and Loch Ness) |
| . . . and too many more to include here. Murphy crossed the Channel nine times in the seventies—two doubles and five singles—on his way to 34 total. |
(1974 Lake Ontario at age 16) | |
1975 | English Channel |
1976 | English Channel twice |
1977 | first woman to complete an English Channel double. Her 19:55 smashed the previous overall record, Jon Erikson’s 29:50, by almost 10 hours. |
1978 | English Channel |
1978 | Queen of the Channel (1978-1992) |
1979 | English Channel double, breaking her own record |
1979 | English Channel twice |
1970-1979 | 16 English Channel crossings |
1973 | |
1975, 1976 | |
1979-1980 | King of the Channel (and 1980-2000, 2004-2006) |
1970-1979 | 16 English Channel crossings |
1975-1979 | King of the Channel (and for a time in 1980) |
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In remaining faithful to Nyad’s constraints, the above list omits several other great marathoners of the 1970s, in particular:
In professional races, Nyad never finished close to Bucha, Kinsella, Iglesias, or Plit.
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“There are greater swimmers in the world. But I’m the one with charisma. I have the asset of being articulate. I can get out of the water and make people interested in my story.”
Diana Nyad, Miami Herald, 31 July 1978
So who was the best swimmer of the 1970s? Heck if I know. But one thing’s for sure: It wasn’t Diana Nyad.
On the other hand, no marathon swimmer in history has combined her knack for PR with her lust for attention and ease with deceit. And that’s why Diana Nyad became known as The Greatest.
The Greatest: In order of appearance—Jennie McNulty (in Walking Funny With…Diana Nyad); unknown (in 2015 Lake Forest College Commencement Speech - Diana Nyad; Claudia Bestor (in Hammer Conversations: Diana Nyad and Catherine Opie); Diana Nyad (89th National FFA Convention & Expo); Catherine Opie (in Hammer Conversations . . . ).
Music: Kevin MacLeod, “Deuces.”
Further Reading
Want a second opinion?
How about we consult James “Doc” Counsilman, the Hall of Fame swim coach who led Indiana University to six NCAA championships during his 33-year tenure. Counsilman coached over 60 Olympians. In 1979, at age 58, he swam the English Channel:
By taking on the Channel, Counsilman also hoped to help plot a truer course for a sport that he feels is being exploited by “phony-baloney promoters.” He cites the example of Diana Nyad, “a very mediocre swimmer with a very good publicist. Most of her swims have been failures. . . . Still, when she gets into the tide off the Bahamas and rides it to Florida, a swim that truly great marathoners like John Kinsella could do with one arm tied behind their backs, she gets all the attention.” (Sports Illustrated, 24 Sep 1979)
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Image from “Go For the Gold, Doc.” Original caption reads: “Hetzel comforted Counsilman, who said, ‘It only hurt once—from the beginning to the end.’” (Photo: Terence Spencer.)
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A third and fourth?
Tom Hetzel swam the English Channel eight times:
“She has a tremendous reputation for not finishing races,” complains Tom Hetzel, seven-time conqueror of the English Channel. “She has gotten more publicity for doing less than anyone I know.” (People Magazine, 16 Aug 1976, p. 72. See also pages 70 and 71.)
John Kinsella, Olympic medalist, world record holder, and 5-time World Professional Marathon Swimming champion:
Diana is such a joke to anybody who knows anything about marathons. (Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug 1978)
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