Endurance swimmer Diane Nyad, 62, was forced to abandon her third attempt and second attempt in just two months to swim from Cuba to Florida after 40 hours in the water and 77 miles when medics warned her that another sting from a Portuguese man-of-war like the two she’d already suffered, could prove fatal, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"I trained this hard for this big dream I had for so many years, and to think these stupid little Portuguese man of war take it down," said Nyad. "It's a huge disappointment."
Nyad, an out lesbian, was swimming with a cap that had eye and mouth holes in it after being stung by the man-of-war but in the end she called it quits rather than risk another sting.
"You go into convulsions, your spine feels paralyzed. I've had kidney stones. Nothing compares to the pain," Nyad said of the sting. "It just took the life force out of me."
Last month Nyad attempted the same marathon swim from Cuba to Florida but was forced to stop due to asthma, shoulder pain and heavy seas.
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