Thanks to the recent film Nyad starring Annette Benning in the title role of Diana Nyad, the third person and oldest woman to swim from Cuba to Florida, and Jodie Foster in the role of Bonnie Stoll, Nyad’s best friend and former life partner who trained her for the swim, the world is now familiar with the incredible accomplishment of this driven woman athlete.
For their performances, Bening and Foster received nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively, at the 96th Academy Awards, the 29th Critics’ Choice Awards, the 81st Golden Globe Awards and the 30th Screen Actors Guild Awards.
An accomplished long-distance swimmer, Nyad’s incredible feat occurred in 2013 on her fifth attempt to complete the 110-mile journey from Havana, Cuba to Key West, FL.
As well known as Nyad is, I learned recently of another long-distance swimming accomplishment by a woman that took place 87 years before Nyad’s epic journey.
On August 6, 1926, Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle became the first woman to swim the English Channel. While the distance of 21 miles is considerably less than Nyad’s accomplishment, due to the water temperatures that range from 57° to 64°F during swim season, tidal currents and unpredictable storms, her accomplishment is just as, if not more significant as Nyad’s.
You can learn more about the driving force that motivated these two phenomenal women athletes by viewing the movies Nyad and Young Woman and the Sea.
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