Diana Nyad completes record-breaking Cuba to Florida swim

GlobalPost
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Endurance swimmer Diana Nyad, 64, completed her record-breaking swim from Cuba to the Florida Keys on Monday afternoon. 

She made it to the Key West shore just before 2 p.m. EST, 53 hours after taking the plunge in Havana.

"Diana is swimming strong after 43 hours non-stop. She knows where she is and it's giving her added strength," team member Alex de Cordoba wrote on Nyad's website early Monday.

Nyad is now the first person to swim the 110 miles from Cuba without a shark cage. 

"My adrenaline is pumping very hard," Nyad told the Guardian before departing on Saturday morning. 

 "Which means in one half I'm excited. I did all the training. The body is ready. My mind is ready. On the other hand, I admit I'm scared."

The Key West, Fla., resident has tried and failed the journey four times before — first in 1978 with a cage, then three times in 2011 and 2012 without a cage.

Each time she’s been defeated – by dehydration, storms, ocean currents and jellyfish stings.

More from GlobalPost: Diana Nyad: Swim from Cuba to Florida cut short by jellyfish and lightening

This time, she wore a new prosthetic face mask made of silicone that she hoped would protect her from jellyfish at night, as well as a full bodysuit, surgical gloves and booties.

She was also accompanied by a support team of 35 people in two sailboats who monitored her health, fed her and operated equipment that generates a slight electrical field to keep sharks away.

Nyad previously said this would be her final attempt at the swim, but she made that declaration before and then tried again.

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