Diana Nyad

Diana Nyad would most assuredly own some serious Olympic hardware had long-distance open-water swimming been official events. In 1979, Diana swam an incredible 102.5 miles nonstop from the island of Bimini in the Bahamas to the coast of Florida. This accomplishment thrust her onto the world stage, but not before constituting two full days of constant swimming. This distance remains unprecedented.

Diana was recognized in 1986 by the National Women’s Sports Hall of Fame and in 2003 by the International Swimming Hall of Fame. She is also an accomplished print, television and radio journalist, currently hosting Savvy Traveler for NPR, documentaries for Outdoor Life Network and The Score for KCRW.

Previous work includes a senior correspondent for Fox Sports News and host of a CNBC show. Diana is also credited with authoring a weekly column for NPR's Morning Edition. Her work has appeared in The New York Times and Self Magazine. Also on Diana's agenda is working on a series of children’s books devoted to athletes who overcame youthful obstacles.

A graduate of Lake Forest College, Diana, who fluently speaks four foreign languages, has been with Swim Across America since our start in 1987. As she once said in an interview, “There is nothing greater than touching the shore after crossing some great body of water knowing that I've done it with my own two arms and legs.” We couldn’t agree more ... unless you're simultaneously raising awareness and money for cancer research!