Exposing the lies of one of sports' greatest frauds.
The first of three entries examining Diana Nyad’s bizarre response to being caught in her Manhattan lie.
In 2011, CNN caught Diana Nyad lying about being the first woman to swim around Manhattan Island. In response, Nyad did not apologize for—nor even acknowledge—her deception. Instead, she posted a blog entry full of excuses, justifications, irrelevant information—and more lies.
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Nyad’s “Fearless!” performance contained much of her usual crowd-pleasing poppycock, but she hit the mother lode with her original take on protective headgear.
As per my previous post, Diana Nyad appeared on the New Yorker Festival’s Fearless!: Life on the Edge panel on Saturday, October 7. Except for her religious conversion (see below), I heard nothing new…with one important exception: Ms. Nyad’s “Titanium Cap of Will.”
All quotes below come from Nyad at Fearless!.
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Diana Nyad’s transparent and greedy Manhattan lie–“I was the first woman to swim around Manhattan Island”–gives us the key to understanding all of her deceptions.
Diana Nyad returned to Manhattan on Saturday for the New Yorker Festival’s Fearless!: Life on the Edge. The panel — arranged by a highly respected magazine, occurring on the island of Nyad’s most obvious lie, and consisting of three genuine adventurers and one fraud — provided an indicator of the success of Nyad’s deceit. Despite her decades of deception, she took the stage unabashed. She recited stories that she has often parroted in other venues. Only a few in the audience knew that they sat in the presence of one of the greatest sports cheaters in history.
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A great read about the race to become the first woman to swim the English Channel, THE GREAT SWIM costars Mille Gade, 2nd to swim the channel (and to circle Manhattan). And then there are the touching bits.
The English Channel is the closest thing we have to a Mt. Everest of marathon swims, contrarians notwithstanding. I recently finished The Great Swim, a book about the summer of 1926, when four American women went to Europe, all wanting to become the first female to conquer their Everest. It’s a fascinating story well-told. The author, Gavin Mortimer, also writes of the aftermath—how being first nearly destroyed the life of the young and unworldly Gertrude Ederle.
Diana Nyad wants fortune, fame, and adoration. To ensure acquisition thereof, she exaggerates and lies.
Early in her career, Nyad was more candid than she is now about her career goals. From a 1975 interview:
I would not deny that the day to day motivations are fame and fortune…. I want very much to be recognized.
Diana Nyad says that everyone who’s anyone has tried to swim the Florida Strait. I count six.
From the Brink of Midnight podcast, #9:
All the great swimmers of the ocean have tried [to swim from Cuba to Florida]—male, female, young, strong, fast. [28:05]
Complete nonsense.
Five people who are not Diana Nyad have attempted to swim from Cuba to Florida: