IN THE 1970s Diana Nyad was the greatest long-distance swimmer in the world, setting records such as swimming around Manhatten and swimming between the Bahamas and Florida. 

Her determination to succeed and never giving up in whatever she does are epitomised by her attempts to swim the 103 miles between Cuba and Florida. The seemingly impossible swim was followed by millions of people around the world and her final triumph in 2013 greeted with joy by all who had been inspired by her courage.

In this exclusive interview Diana talked to us about that epic swim, her passion to inspire others and her memoirs which are due to be published later this year. She touches on her time on Dancing with the Stars and gives some insight into her work in broadcasting and journalism.

Whether you have an interest in swimming or not, the life of Diana and her passion to succeed will inspire while her humility is surely a lesson to us all.

Who were your early influences in swimming and when was it that you realised you had something that would enable you to become one of the world’s most successful swimmers?

I grew up in a Mecca of swimming champions, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and witnessed first hand as a child that the best in the world apply daily focus and discipline toward lofty long-term goals.

For me, the press to be a champion had less to do with swimming itself and more to do with my thrill at being unwavering in my commitment. I had a big poster in my room as a kid, one that read: “A diamond is a lump of coal that stuck with it.” What I’ve always valued most is perseverance, in and out of the water.

In the 1970s you were known as the greatest long-distance swimmer in the world and took records such as circling Manhattan Island and crossing the 102 miles between the Bahamas and Florida. Could you tell us more about those challenges and what it was like to suddenly becoming a global name?

During my first era as a champion ocean swimmer, in my younger phase, I was attracted to two aspects of the gruelling sport of marathon swimming. First, there was the combination of geography and history. When I became the first woman to circle Manhattan Island, there was an enchantment to stroking powerfully down the mighty Hudson River, filled that glorious fall day with the centuries of history of the place.

Also, every long tough swim I completed back in my 20s was a tribute to not giving up. For all of us, when faced with our toughest moments, it’s easy to quit. I thrived in the other facets of my life each time I crossed a challenging body of water and displayed the mental resolve not to quit.

Photo Dawn Blomgren

Your attempts to swim the 103 miles between Cuba and Florida were followed closely by much of America. Could you tell us more about those swims and what inspired you to try the challenge again?

The Cuba swim was different from all the rest. From the time I first tried it, back in 1978, at age 28, through the four valiant and suffering failures, to the final triumph in 2013, at age 64, the Cuba crossing was never about a sports achievement for me. It was not about setting an outrageous endurance record.

The thousands of people on the Florida shore who greeted me were crying. They were highly emotional, as are the 25 million fans who have written to me since the walk up onto that beach. These are not sports fans. They are people who watched me live out loud the credos I carried with me all the way across, all through the 35-year journey: Never Ever Give Up.

If you believe in the dream you’re chasing, if it’s worthy of your precious time, if you just don’t give up, you’ll get there, whatever your other shore may be.

What have been you biggest successes in the water and how are you able to keep motivating yourself for the next challenge?

I have been afraid my entire life of wasting this “one wild and precious life”. We are all of us travelling on a one-way road. I simply refuse to let my one life idly slip by. I am determined to live a bold and fierce adventure. It doesn’t take motivation for me to dream big, to live large.

Photo Christi Barli

You have been a prominent sports broadcaster and presenter. Could tell us more about the events you have covered and how it feels to be a commentator rather than competitor?

I spent 30 years as a sports journalist and broadcaster. I wasn’t complaining. From the Olympic Games to the Tour de France, it was my privilege to follow the best in the world in their pursuits of excellence.

But toward the end of that period, as I was turning sixty, I was bothered by no longer being a doer. That’s what led me back to chasing that perhaps impossible Cuba swim dream of mine.

Now I have the unique opportunity, on many platforms, to tell stories of inspiration and returning to sports journalism, frankly, has very little appeal in this current era of my life.

I have just finished my memoir, called Find a Way, with a publication date of Oct 20 this year. The publisher, Knopf, has great faith it will be a memoir of inspiration to millions of people.

I am currently performing my one woman show, Onward!, and am ambitious enough to envision making it to Broadway. We’ll see.

And my swim head handler and best friend Bonnie Stoll and I are, in the summer of 2016, going to walk across America and we’re going to get a million people to do it with us. It will be a huge national event, a movement of social change to inspire Americans toward a less sedentary lifestyle.

Photo Christi Barli

How often do you swim at the moment and have you thought about setting yourself any challenges in the coming years?

Unlike the first time I retired and literally didn’t swim a stroke for 30 years, retiring after finally accomplishing the epic Cuba swim has left me committed to swim for health and fitness the rest of my life.

Not only will I always appreciate the strength of mind and body that swimming produces, but there is undeniable magic and majesty to skimming across the ocean’s surface and literally immerse oneself in the blue jewel that is Planet Earth.

I will also do long pool swim events for charity, such as the 48-hour swim I did in NYC, October 2013, to raise funds for the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

What was it like competing in Dancing with the Stars and what did you learn from the experience?

It goes without saying that I of course wanted to fare better on Dancing with the Stars. You might not believe me, but I’m actually not a bad dancer. I’ve been doing Latin dances all my life. But a matronly dress the first week, along with bad luck of the staid fox trot, combined to make my stay on the show entirely too short. Nevertheless, I spent one very intense week locked in a dance studio with my delightful professional partner, Henry Byalikov, and it was sincerely a privilege to engage with a beautiful dancer in his eccentric world 24/7 for that month. In the end, I am truly grateful for the opportunity.