American endurance swimmer Diana Nyad on Monday completed a 170-kilometre Cuba-to-Florida swim, arriving near Key West, Florida after more 50 hours in the water, news agencies quoted local news reports as saying. Nyad became the first person to swim the treacherous waters of the Florida Straits without the protection of a shark cage. It was the 64-year-old's fifth attempt to make the swim. Her first was in 1978 when she was 28. Her last attempt was in August 2011, but it ended after she was repeatedly stung by jellyfish. On this swim, Nyad wore a specially designed prosthetic mask to ward off the jellyfish. She also wore a full body suit, gloves and shoes, according to Voice of America. She reached the shore just before 2 p.m. (1400 GMT) to the applause of hundreds of people gathered on the beach, the Miami Herald reported. After her initial failed attempts more than 30 years ago, she gave up, but realized when she turned 60 she couldn't let go of the dream. "I wanted to teach myself - at 60 - some life lessons, and one of them is you don't giveup," she told CBS news. "I just hadn't reached the wall where there is nothing left to give."
