I had the distinct pleasure of meeting famed endurance swimmer Diana Nyad at the Kelly McGillis Classic International Women’s and Girls’ Flag Football Championship, which took place Jan. 23-30 here in Key West. Among other activities, she was the grand marshal of the championship’s annual players’ parade — and she certainly deserved the honor.
Diana Nyad poses on Key West’s Smathers Beach with a bronze plaque commemorating her epic 2013 Cuba-to-Florida Keys swim. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)
Diana is known globally, and especially here in the Florida Keys, for her iconic swim of nearly 111 miles from Cuba to Key West without a shark cage.
She actually attempted the trek five times over a 35-year span, beginning in 1978 when she was 28 years old. On Sept. 2, 2013, at the age of 64, she triumphantly succeeded in her quest.
An author and veteran broadcast journalist, Diana currently lives in Los Angeles.
On Jan. 27, accompanied by her best friend and swim expedition leader, Bonnie Stoll, she dedicated an exhibit at Key West’s Custom House Museum that features some of the gear from her historic swim.
Diana donated the gear to the Key West Art & Historical Society to recognize the tremendous support she received from the Key West community over the years.
She wants the exhibit to memorialize not just the Cuba swim and connecting Havana with Key West, but also the great people of Key West.
While she was here, Diana talked with me about her life’s accomplishments and her unique connection to the island city.
Diana signs a jersey during the Kelly McGillis Classic International Women’s and Girls’ Flag Football Championship. (Photo by Greg Tromba, Florida Keys News Bureau)
Keys Voices: Why does Key West mean so much to you? What keeps bringing you back here?
Diana Nyad: I finished this swim in Key West; it was history. We lived here for four summers, my team and I. We trained every day; we were off Stock Island and Oceanside Marina. We lived in Key West with the most giving, civic-minded people I have ever met in my life — and I have been all over this planet.
KV: You have publicly referred to Key West as your home away from home. Why is that?
DN: I have never met a group of people who will get up and stay up all night and do things for you, who will be there for you. The Cuba swim was all about connecting Havana to Key West, and it was about me being with the great people of this city. That’s what the city means to me; I consider myself an honorary citizen.
KV: What are some aspects of Key West’s LGBT community that you appreciate?
DN: The community at large, I believe because of the LGBT community, is open. They are used to a gay culture that accepts everything — human beings who have a right to get married and live as loving partners, and Key West has shown the way. They have been one of the leading communities in the entire country of accepting gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual rights. I like to live in a place and be connected with a place that’s open and fair and respecting of all human beings. And Key West is that place.
Diana blows a bugle at the dedication of an exhibit at Key West’s Custom House Museum showcasing her 2013 swim. (Photo by Carol Tedesco, Florida Keys News Bureau)
KV: Do you have a favorite Key West restaurant?
DN: I’m pretty crazy about the Cuban food. El Siboney always has salsa and merengue music playing, and you get the beautiful plantains done just the way the Cubans do it. I’m pretty crazy about that. The Café on Southard Street — I love that place. It’s healthy, and you can get a good meal that isn’t full-on vegetarian, but it’s a beautiful healthily prepared meal. But you can just take me all around the city … you are not wanting for great culinary moments.
KV: What are some of your favorite things to do when you visit Key West?
DN: I love to standup paddleboard and I love kayaking — just go on your own steam, kayak out around the islands, in and out of the bridges. I’ve biked around. We took a 9-mile public walk this morning — we had about 50 people who showed up. Bonnie and I are launching the biggest walking initiative in American history, called “EverWalk,” and one of the big walks we want to do is Key West to Miami.
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