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US swimmer Diana Nyad halts Cuba to Florida attempt | US swimmer Diana Nyad halts Cuba to Florida attempt |
(about 7 hours later) | |
A 62-year-old US woman has had to halt her latest attempt to become the first person to swim from Cuba to the US without a shark cage. | |
Her face swollen by jellyfish stings, Diana Nyad was pulled from the water early on Tuesday, her team said. | |
She had hoped to reach Florida on Tuesday, a day ahead of her 63rd birthday. But overnight, her team said they had been held up by a squall. | |
This was her fourth attempt at the 103-mile (166-km) swim in 35 years. | |
She was pulled from the water at about an hour after midnight, her team reported, as thunderstorms and strong winds buffeted the swimmer and her support boats. | |
Earlier, href="http://www.diananyad.com/blog" >her team's blog said Ms Nyad had been brought aboard at 07:42 local time (11:42 GMT). The reason for the time discrepancy was unclear. | |
'Bear of a swim' | |
In a subsequent blog post Ms Nyad said: "When can I get back in? I want full transparency that I was out. But I have plenty left in me and I want to go on." | |
Crew member Candace Hogan said: "She realised that the obstacles against this swim were too great and agreed at dawn to return to Key West by boat." | |
Earlier on Tuesday her team said that she was 55 miles (89km) off the coast of Key West, Florida. | |
She swam for longer and covered more distance than in her previous tries, they said, adding she had been in the water for more than 41 hours on this attempt. | |
Ms Nyad had been repeatedly stung by jellyfish during the swim. Her tongue and lips had swollen overnight due to exposure to salt water. | |
She first tried to complete the crossing in 1978. | |
A second attempt in 2011 had to be called off because of shoulder pain and an asthma attack. Later the same year, jellyfish stings ended her third bid at the crossing. | |
Before setting off on her latest effort, Ms Nyad said last week: "I just don't want to spend the rest of my life trying and failing and trying and failing this, but it's a bear of a swim. | |
"I would hate to stand here again with you next year and say, 'Well, didn't make it again.'" |