The woman who swam from Cuba to Florida aged 64
Red Bull How To Be Superhuman is a brand new podcast which sets out to examine what it really means to be 'superhuman'. Record-breaking ultra runner Rob Pope speaks to athletes who have completed seemingly superhuman feats of endurance about the journeys they've undertaken – and how they found the strength to travel to the extremes of human endeavour.
In this episode, Rob chats to Diana Nyad, the only person to ever complete the treacherous 110-mile swim from Cuba to Florida without the use of a shark cage.
Diana reveals why, after an unsuccessful attempt in 1978, she decided to revisit the swim 30 years later – and how, after continuous failed attempts after that, she found the will to keep on trying until she finally succeeded in 2013.
Diana Nyad beginning her fifth attempt in August 2013
© AFP / Stringer / AFP / Getty Images
Sharing anecdotes from her five gruelling quests, Diana talks about how she endured everything from a near-death encounter with a deadly box jellyfish, to a night spent repeatedly vomiting into her protective swimming mask. She also chats to Rob about pain – and why she believes all humans experience it differently – as well as why we can all become better endurance athletes as we age...