Diana Nyad Fact Check: WPMSF Bulletins and Other Documents

Articles

Nyad-related

Date		Source	Title/Description
1973	20 Aug	Chicago Tribune	“Diana Nyad’s free spirit is challenged by swimming”
1975	6 Oct	Daily News (NY)	“The Unsinkable Diana Nyad”
1976	1 Aug	New York Sunday News	“The Challengers of the Channel”: [page 1] [page 2] [page 3] [page 4]
1978	21 Jun	Barrie Examiner (ON)	“Swimming Hall Of Fame Director To Speak At Neptunes’ Banquet” “As a hobby, Mr. Dawson managed a women’s marathon swim team which included Olympic swimmers Marty Sinn and Diana Nyad.” (Dawson was a close associate of Nyad so would have known that she wasn’t an Olympian.)
1978	9 Aug	Fort Lauderdale News	“If Diana Nyad Goes The Distance, She’ll Be Swimming In The Money”
1978	12 Sep	Minneapolis Star	Want to contact Diana Nyad? The Star suggests either writing her attorney or the Kalmus Corporation, the agency that helped with Nyad’s largely fictitious 1978 press release.
1978	15 Oct	Chicago Tribune	Television schedule showing Nyad on “John Callaway Interviews” See video here. Among other things Nyad says in this classic: 17:45—“I swam in the North Sea a few years back, a race down the Dutch coast that took me 40 hours and 3 minutes.” No one has been able to identify this swim. 11:36—“I don’t want to sound too braggartly, but I think that, on August 13th of this year, standing on the Cuba coast about to set off, that I was in the best physical shape of anybody on the face of the earth for that day.”
1979	4-5 Sep	Pensacola News	“Diana Nyad: If it Hurts to Achieve, She’ll Accept the Pain” / “Ultimate Challenge: Cuba-to-Florida Swim” Two stories on “Diana Nyad, a woman swimmer with perseverance.”

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Diana’s Last Stands

Date		Source	Title/Description
1978	22 Mar	Fort Lauderdale News	“Diana Nyad To Try Cuba To Key West Record Swim” “‘And that,’ said Diana Nyad, ‘will be it. I’ll never do another long distance swim. It’s the most boring sport in the world.’”
1979	24 Oct	Windsor Star (ON)	“Final Trek for Diana”
1979	24 Oct	Fort Lauderdale News	“Nyad preparing for last swim”
1979	28 Oct	Lebanon Daily News (PA)	“Diana’s Swan Song”
1979	2 Nov	Hartford Courant (CT)	“All the Legs Are Alike”
1980	14 Mar	South Bend Tribune (IN)	“One Swim Left for Diana Nyad”

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Other

Date		Source	Title/Description
1930	13 July	Muncie Sunday Star (IN)	Sports photo spread which includes Lillian Garrick (fourth woman around Manhattan) and Leah Riley
1971	25 Mar	Atlantic City Press (NJ)	Joe Grossman wins Davids-Wheeler Trophy
1972	Mar	Swimming Times (London)	“ECHEVERRIA—can he acclimatise?”
1972	20 Apr	Atlantic City Press	“Hall of Fame Picks Toomey”
1978	17 Aug	Post-Star (Glen Falls, NY)	“Kinsella Tops Mark” John Kinsella breaks Lake Ontario record.
1981	24 July	La Presse (Montreal, QC)	LE CIRCUIT DE MARATHONS DE NAGE LONGUE DISTANCE: Beauté, amitiés…et ouverture sur le monde (THE LONG DISTANCE SWIMMING MARATHON CIRCUIT: Beauty, friendships…and openness to the world)

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Standings/Rankings

Year	Title/Description
mult.	WPMSF, IMSA, and FINA World Champions, 1963-2007 (via Open Water Boek 2008)
1967	“Iglesias, Denijs Named World’s Swim Champion,” The Register: Danville, VA, 18 Oct 1967.
1970	WPMSF press release
1970	WPMSF standings
1971	WPMSF standings
1971	“Horacio Iglesias, le meilleur mageur au monde,” Le Nouvelliste, 6 Dec 1971.
1972	WPMSF press release
1974	WPMSF #24
1974	Federation de Marathons de Nage Professionnelle du Quebec (totals for Canadian races)
1974	“D’un marathon à l’autre…” Le Soleil, 21 Aug 1974 (totals for Canadian races)
1976	WPMSF press release

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Misc./General

1963 - 1973	History of the WPMSF through 1973
1970 (20 Apr)	Joe Grossman to Abilio Couto on upcoming races & Catalina record attempt.
1970 - 1972	Diana Nyad’s pro race results 1970 - 1972
1970 - 1975	Diana Nyad’s WPMSF results
1978 (21 Aug)	Richard Mullins’ Observer report from Diana Nyad’s 1978 Cuba-Florida attempt
1980 - 1983	Swims & Records, 1980-1983
1998	International Marathon Swimming Association newsletter #12

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Letters

(This table is an edited version of the Diana Nyad Fact Check Annex page, “Docs Project: We Get Letters!” first posted on 25 September 2019.)

Three letters between Buck Dawson, the executive director of the International Swimming Hall of Fame at the time, and Joe Grossman. Dawson writes that he has discovered a new swimmer who will “re-inject some glamour” into the pro racing circuit.

1970	11 May	Buck Dawson to Joe Grossman	original
	14 May	Grossman to Dawson	original	transcription
	20 Jul	Dawson to Grossman (This is a press release in letter form extolling the virtues of the WPMSF’s new “Golden Greek.”)	original

The following letters address, among many other things, the controversy surrounding Nyad’s 1974 WPMSF World Championship. Dennis Matuch’s explanation, “When is a world champion not a world champion?” provides a diplomatic coda. Don Watson, who coached both Sandra Bucha and John Kinsella, provides another view in “Bucha Deserves Just Reward.”

1974	Sep	Diana Nyad to Dennis Matuch	original	transcription
	9 Nov	Nyad to Matuch	original	transcription
	Nov	Nyad to Matuch to Conrad Wennerberg	original	transcription
	4 Dec	Nyad to Sandra Bucha’s parents	original
	14 Dec	Nyad to Matuch	original	transcription

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Swimming World Marathon & Distance columns

		AUTHOR	SUBJECTS (partial)
1970	Sep	Joe Grossman	La Tuque, Hamilton, Lac St-Jean
	Oct	—	Grossman receives Davids-Wheeler Trophy
	Oct	Grossman	Saguenay, Kevin Murphy North Channel
	Nov	〃	???
1971	Feb	Grossman	Florence Chadwick
	Mar	〃	Nyad gets Anderson Award
	May	〃	Announcement of a Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame. Includes statement that “the male and female World Champion Marathon Swimmers…are eligible for inclusion….”
	Jun	〃	Guaymas & Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame
	Jul	〃	Chicago & UAR races
	Sep	〃	various races & Chicago postpones
	Oct	〃	various races & Nyad and English Channel
	Nov	—	Kinsella & Bucha win AAU Long Distance champs
1972	Feb	Grossman	Final 1971 standings—Shadia El Ragab succeeds Judith de Nijs
	Mar	〃	History & Samia Mandour wins Greta Andersen Trophy
	Mar	〃	Typed draft of March column
	Apr	〃	Typed draft of April column—MSHOF announces 1971 honorees
	May	〃	Typed draft of May column—Water pollution
	Jun	〃	Typed draft of June column
	Jun	〃	Races & Greta Andersen
	Jul	〃	What kind of people become marathon swimmers?
	Aug	〃	History of prize money in marathon swimming
	Sep	〃	Chicago race cancelled & Lynne Cox sets EC record
	Oct	〃	Season wrap-up & Nyad & de Nijs DNFs at Lac St-Jean
	Nov	〃	Reverse Molokai & Cherbourg EC attempt
	Dec	〃	End of year WPMSF wrap-up—Shadia El Rageb takes women’s title
1973	Jan	Grossman	George Young obituary
	Feb	〃	Bio of Willy van Rysel, winner of Davids-Wheeler Award
	Jun	〃	typed draft of June column: announcement of MSHOF electees
	Mar	〃	“Marathon swimming, anyone?” Grossman’s draft here.
	Jun	—	“Joseph Grossman suffers fatal heart attack”
	Jul	Dennis Matuch	Upcoming races
	Aug	〃	Upcoming Chicago race
	Sep	〃	Results of first three pro races of season & Nyad drops out of La Tuque
	Oct	〃	Results of Lac St-Jean and Chicago, Sandra Bucha’s first pro swim
	Nov	〃	Final standings—Corrie Dixon wins women’s title
	Dec	〃	Preview of next season
1974	Feb	Matuch	Review of Conrad Wennerberg’s Wind, Waves and Sunburn
	Mar	〃	Difference in 10-mile times between different races.
	May	〃	Mar del Plata & Santa Fe Coronda swims
	Jun	〃	La Tuque strategy & Nile race
	Jul	〃	More on the Mar del Plata swim
	Sep	—	“Bucha is regarded as the top female marathoner now in the United States, possibly the world.” (via “Off the Blocks” section)
	Oct	—	More on Bucha (via “Off the Blocks” section)
	Nov	Conrad Wennerberg	Results of 1974 pro races (less Capri-Naples)
	Dec	—	1974 World Ratings
1975	Jan	Matuch	Partial column: “When is a world champion not a world champion?” (partial column)
	Jan	〃	Complete column: Marathon race funding & “When is a world champion….?”
	Feb	〃	Mar del Plata overview
	Feb	Don Watson (letter)	Watson, Sandra Bucha’s coach, explains why Bucha deserved championship
	May	Wennerberg	Mar del Plata & Buenos Aires walkout
	Jul	Matuch	On solo swim stunts: “[W]hen a newspaper article describes some fantastic or projected 20 to 136 mile ocean swimin which the marathoner would average three m.p.h, or better, I holler ‘FRAUD.’”
	Aug	〃	Upcoming events: Lac St-Jean and Chicago
	Oct	—	1975 rankings & Paul Bucha (Sandra Bucha’s dad) on the ranking system
	Nov	—	Kevin Murphy triple attempt & Des Renford
1976	Jul	Matuch	Effect of Montreal Olympics on Canadian races
	Oct	〃	Jon Erikson Nutrament ad & Chibougamau race details
	Nov	〃	Jon Erikson Nutrament ad & Lac St-Jean
1977	Jan	—	1976 World rankings: Kinsella and Nicholas tops
	Mar	Wennerberg	Jon Erikson in ad for Nutrament & Comparison of pro swimmers, 1964-1977
	May	—	Kinsella & Bucha in ad for races
	Jul	Wennerberg	Listing of upcoming races
	Nov	Matuch	Rundown of Chibougamau 3-part race, which Kinsella won
1978	Jan	Matuch	Lac St-Jean & Cynthia Nicholas’ double EC & 1977 men’s world rankings
	Feb	〃	1977 women’s world rankings
	Mar	Stephen Malley	“Orca Surfaces From the Depths”
	Jun	Matuch	Paspebiac
	Jul	〃	MSHOF revitalization & Rio Corondo
	Nov	Wennerberg	John Kinsella’s year: He won every race he entered in 1978
1979	Jan	Matuch	World rankings: Kinsella wins 4th championship; Passfield best woman.
	Feb	〃	On the mind of the marathoner, including Penny Dean’s mental prep for her EC world record.
	Mar	Wennerberg	Comparison of pro swimmers, 1964-1977
	Jun	Wennerberg	MSHOF inductees & Rio Coronda
	Oct	—	Jon Erikson attempts triple EC, settles for a double (and two records)
1980	Feb	Matuch	1979 races and final standings
1981	Feb	James A. Barry	1980 races and final standings

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WPMSF Bulletins

(This table is a new and improved version of the Diana Nyad Fact Check Annex page,
“Docs Project: WPMSF bulletins,” first posted on 31 August 2019.)

1964	#1—Spring	#2—Autumn
1965	#3—Spring	#4—Summer	#5—Autumn
1966	#6—page 2	#7—Summer	#8—Winter
1968	#9—Spring	#10—Autumn	#11—Winter
1969	#12—Spring	#13—Autumn
1970	#14—Winter	#15—Spring
1971	#16—Winter	#17—Spring	#18—Dec
1972	#19—Spring	#20—Autumn
1973	#21—Dec
1974	#22—Feb	#23—May	#24—Nov
1975	#25—Feb	#26—May	#27—missing	#28—Oct
1976	#29—Feb	#30—Apr	#31—Jun	#32—Nov
1977	#33—May	#34—Nov
1978	#35—Feb	#36—Jun	#37—Oct	#38—Dec
1979	#39—May	#40—Dec
1981	#??—Oct
1985	#85-3—Dec

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Press releases

	ORGANIZATION	SUBJECT
1970	WPMSF	1970 rankings
1971	MSHOF	Announcement of inductees. Notate draft by Joe Grossman.
1972	MSHOF	Johnny Weissmuller, International Commissioner of professional marathon swimming, announces upcoming races.
1972	WPMSF	1972 rankings
1976	WPMSF	1976 rankings
1978	Kalmus Corp.	[page 1] [page 2] Rife with hyperbole and fiction, this is the document that Nyad distributed before her first Cuba-Florida expotition. See “Anatomy of a 1978 Nyad Press Release” at the Nyad Fact Check Annex.
???	WPMSF	Matuch elected WPMSF president

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Documents from the International Swimming Hall of Fame Archives and Other Sources