|
• KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) -- Defeated before in bids to swim from Cuba to Florida, Diana Nyad would cry and rage through swollen lips and welts at the jellyfish tentacles that had repeatedly lashed her and derailed her plans to become the first swimmer to make the 110-mile crossing without a shark cage.
• Her lips were swollen Monday, as in the past, when she emerged from the waters off Key West, but the 64-year-old American endurance swimmer managed a tight smile for supporters and said one word: "Seawater." And this time, she was victorious.
• "She freaking made it," her website trumped, along with the words "Party time."
• The stinging sea life that had plagued her four previous attempts to swim the Florida Straits-- and the attempts of other swimmers trying to complete the same stretch -- failed to appear until the final hours of her journey. That left Nyad free to concentrate on defeating the elements and persevere through about 53 hours in the water until she could step on dry land.
• Dazed and sunburned, the athlete waded ashore finally free of the protective silicone mask that had bruised her mouth and a fully-body "jellyfish suit" that she conceded were necessary for the swim she began Saturday -- even if they weighed down her crawl strokes.
•
10 Things to Know for Today
The Associated Press
• 1. OBAMA ADMINISTRATION MAKING ITS CASE FOR MILITARY STRIKE
• Kerry, Hagel and other top officials will appear before a Senate panel to argue for a response to last month's alleged gas attack outside Damascus.
•
• 2. HOW MICROSOFT IS EXTENDING ITS SMARTPHONE REACH
• The company -- aiming to better compete with Apple and Google -- is buying Nokia's line of smartphones.
•
• 3. JAPAN PLEDGES MILLIONS TO STOP NUKE LEAKS
• As Tokyo seeks an Olympic bid, the government says it will fund an underground (Continued on page 35)
|
|
