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Distance swimmer and Diana Nyad will once again attempt to swim 100 miles from Cuba to Florida, but this time in a new special suit to protect her from jellyfish stings.
Nyad, the greatest long distance swimmer in the world from 1969 until 1979, and an out lesbian, tried to complete this swim in the past, including two attempts last year, but she was unsuccessful. Her last attempt ended about 40 hours after she started due to paralysis of her spine and extreme pain after being stung several times on her face and body by jellyfish.
As a result, Nyad has worked with a company to develop a wetsuit resistant to jellyfish stings.
From her blog:
My partner, the company FINIS, worldwide leader in technology for swimming, spent four months this year researching and developing a suit for me.
Here it is. Approved by the sport of ocean swimming. No neoprene at all, meaning no unfair flotation aspect. Not as easy to swim in as plain skin, unfortunately. But at least through the two entire nights I’ll be swimming, when the jellyfish are most likely to surface, I will wear my FINIS suit.
An exact date for the swim this summer hasn’t been set, yet. Check out the videos from her Xtreme Dream blog of Nyad in her new wetsuit below:
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