Slurred speech, sunburnt skin, and disorientation – these were what US endurance swimmer Diana Nyad suffered after reaching Florida shores – but she didn’t care. After all, these are just small consequences compared to the victory she is basking in presently – the first swimmer to swim from Cuba to Florida, approximately 110 miles distance, without a shark cage. She has proven victory is sweeter the fifth time around.

Never Give Up

64-year-old Diana started her swimming feat by leaping off the Hemmingway Marina seawall, Havana Saturday morning. It ended 53 hours later when by early afternoon; she tumbled off the waters in Key West, Florida. She was submerged in water the whole time, only stopping at certain points along the way for nourishment handed to her from the support team that accompanied her.

The same team was also responsible for generating a faint electrical field that surrounded her via equipment; it was necessary to keep sharks at bay since she was not wearing a shark cage.

The endurance swimmer stepped on Key West’s white sandy beach amidst cheers from the crowd.

“I have three messages. One is, we should never, ever give up. Two is, you’re never too old to chase your dream. Three is, it looks like a solitary sport, but it is a team,” she managed to say through swollen lips few moments after hitting Key West shores, Florida Monday. Her words were slurred but their meanings rang loud and clear.

The Swim

This was the swimmer’s fifth Cuba-Florida crossing – her first was in 1978 followed by three-time attempts between 2011 and 2012 but she failed in all her previous tries. Bad weather, boat difficulties, strong threatening currents and an army of jellyfish had cut her past attempts short.

This time around, though, it seemed like all her past ventures worked well for her as she was armed and ready before jumping off in Cuban waters. Her team had a full bodysuit, booties, and a silicone mask which she wore at night when jellyfish come up into the water’s surface. The stinging creatures did surface but at the near end of her swim, near US waters. Nevertheless, she did tell her team as she was nearing land that the new silicone mask caused her mouth to bruise, making speaking difficult.

Thunderstorms were also seen looming along the horizon during the duration of her swim but throughout the event Diana enjoyed fair weather and she swam through a fairly calm sea though she admitted there were times where currents pulled strongly on her.

Her support group also spoke warmly through her blog about how cruise ships made way for the swimmer while she was passing busy ship routes. It was indeed team effort with all the odds working for her success. But it was her determination that was the key element to it – her perseverance to finish, not letting shark and jellyfish threats, her age, or her physical suffering get to her.

Her Victory

Diana was immediately carried off in an ambulance and given IV fluids upon her Florida arrival. Her doctors had assured the public that she is in good condition despite dehydration, sunburn, and her disorientation.

President Obama was among the public figures who congratulated her on her success.