Diana Nyad was nearly 70 nautical miles into her Havana-to-Key West endurance swim when a second sting from a Portuguese Man-of-War forced the 62-year-old to end the attempt.
Swimming the Dream: Diana Nyad's Pursuit of Her Goal
That was after 40 hours of swimming and two stings to the face.
"The medical team said I should not go another two nights in the water and risk additional likely Man-of-War stings, which could have a long term cumulative effect on my body," she said on her website. "But for each of us, isn’t life about determining your own finish line? This journey has always been about reaching your own other shore no matter what it is, and that dream continues."
Nyad's attempt came to an end at about 8 a.m. PT.
In the 1970s, Nyad accomplished several endurance feats, including a lap around Manhattan Island in just under eight hours. She also made the 102.5 mile swim from Bimini to Florida. Her 1978 attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida ended at just under 42 hours because of poor weather and strong currents.
She stopped swimming for about three decades before setting her sights on another Cuba-to-Florida swim. It's the second time in as many months that Nyad has made the attempt. In August, she covered 60 miles in almost 29 hours.
Nyad received medical treatment Saturday after the first string, but returned to the water Sunday morning before suffering a second painful sting.
Man-of-wars, also known as bluebottles, are invertebrates made up of several different organisms. The man-of-war's tendrils have a venom used to paralyze and kill fish.
Nyad is a sports journalist and regular commentator on KCRW radio in Santa Monica.
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