Wasn't that feat shown to be a scam? I lost track of all the charges and countercharges.

I lost track also. I thought it was on her and her team to release data that proved she didn't make progress while in the boat. There were some other questions as well, and I'm not sure what was ever answered and proven.

she goes into that in the book. Solid evidence to support + there was a monitor from open water swim association to certify

If I remember correctly, that association was not the standard one for endurance swimming. It was one she and her friends created. And the monitors were friends who had never monitored such a thing before. Then there was her previous attempt where she was caught lying about spending time on the boat. The experts seemed to find her reported speed to push the limits of credibility; combine that with her previous lying and non-independent monitors, so how much faith can you put into her claim.

Yep, some, rather than go amazing, just want to tear the person down. Guess they are jealous.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

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Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

Hey Dave, her swim was both, amazing and not accredited in the typical sense of these swims. It does not have to be either or as you like to encapsulate things. Just to swim and be in the water that long is a very rare thing in ultra swimming, but it was not the world record they laid claim to initially, and it was not a true crossing of the channel as the OW swim associations look at these things. You are right that many jumped into one camp or the other and entrenched themselves, but I believe most recognize it for what it was..

Well said Monty. From what I remember reading of it at the time, I would say that it was very similar to the IronCowboy furore - ie when you look at the detail it wasn't exactly as advertised on the tin, but what she actually did do was still an amazing achievement.

I just believe she is an amazing athlete. Records, who cares. Did "everything" right? Who cares. Let any of these folks who complain try what she has done.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

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Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

We're well aware of the camp you are in Dave, and lots of people care about records and legitimacy, if for no reason other than for comparison sakes.

For what is worth, I had the opportunity to hear her speak this summer. I honestly wasn't really looking forward to it, but left a fan. Look forward to reading the book.
Hack

Well, if she initial laid claim to the world record then she obviously cares about records. And, if she goes into details in her book about evidence that she followed all the rules then she obviously care about doing everything right. Otherwise, she would just say, "eh ... I swam from Cuba to Florida. Don't believe me? talk to the hand because I don't care what you think." Instead, she cites world records and brings her evidence to the table. If you are going to do that then you deserved to be called out on inconsistency.

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My marathon PR is "under three, high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something."

she did one great swim, albeit with speculation on the completion of it. But no talk of lynne cox? only person to swim the Antarctic

I don't know whether she did or did not legitimately make the swim, but her character has been lacking in the past and is only partially revealed in the attached article. I read another much more detailed one about her earlier years in which her actions sounded similar to those of Lance in trying to destroy another persons character. It is that revealed character in her earlier behavior that makes me doubt her own credibility. Now, and only now that folks doubt her record, which should always carry an asterisk, she is sorry for her former actions.

http://www.wsj.com/...04579198073878055530

so many douche bags and assholes with little pricks on Slow Twitch. you losers just can't stand the fact that an old lesbian is tougher than you ever have been or ever will be. Poor, pathetic statement of how seriously lacking you are in every aspect of your life.

You always know the the guys with short dicks. They are the ones who project their own insecurities on the motivations of others. Don't worry, Stubby. If you keep swimming then maybe you can set a unsubstantiated "record" no one gives a damn about. Ask the Iron Cowboy for pointers.

Same poster from another thread, yet a very different take on a similar issue. Hard time keeping your thoughts straight???

First, let me say that she definitely did a very hard and long swim, anyway you look at it, but it was just one single long swim, that's all. JOOC, what does her book say about the 30 yrs she took off from swimming, from about age 28-ish to 58-ish before she made her "comeback"??? Now i know lots of swimmers who've taken 10, 20, or even 30 yrs off between their career as a youth/young adult and their masters career, but i also know a lot who have never taken more than 6 months or so off. Personally, it seems to me that, if she had really wanted to "find a way" a lot sooner, she would not have taken 30 yrs off. I have much more admiration for those swimmers who've done 100s of insane swims, like the aforementioned Lynne Cox as well as Martin Strel, who's swum the entire length of the Mississippi, Amazon, Yangtze, and Danube rivers. Of course most people have not heard of Cox or Strel b/c neither of them is the relentless self promoter that Nyad is. And Strel and Cox are just the two top OW swimmers i'm aware of, b/c i don't follow OW swimming as much as pool swimming. I'm sure there are literally dozens, perhaps 100s of OW swimmers out there who are unknown but yet very accomplished, and who would actually merit a biography more than Nyad:)

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

You touched on another aspect of what rubs people the wrong way about Diana, something I find myself guilty of (and embarrassed that I care):

As a swimmer, Diana is, well, not very good. if she were to do an IM she would be way closer to the cutoff than the front. So it irks swimmers when she is mentioned with Phelps or Spitz or whomever as a great swimmer. I bet Diana could go nonstop on a treadmill for 48 hours if she put her mind to it. It is unbelievable what she does. But that feat wouldn't make her Usain Bolt.

And of course all of this is wrapped up in her self promotion. Jordan Rapp talked about how the ironcowboy getting more "press" than any other triathlete is bothersome. This was similar. People want context so who do you compare her to as a swimmer; only the best of course. I really wish I didn't care about this stuff. It is petty and silly. But I suppose I wish her feat was seen for what it was, and not for what it isn't.

( and all that said, it was pretty amazing!)

What is wrong with some folks being a Usain Bolt, and some a Frank Shorter? Why are they both not very impressive. So have fast twitch, some have slow twitch.
I have some speed like a bolt, but such at endurance like a shorter. And no amount of training is going to change my genetics.

I know many who brag they complete an IM, but would be just about last in an Olympic distance. Does that make them good or bad?

And yes what ironcowboy did was impressive. Trying to say they were all IM races was the joke.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

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Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

Huh...So says the guy who never misses a chance to attack Betsy Andreu.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Dave - Perhaps AJ chose the wrong analogy with Usain Bolt, or at least he did not mean it the way you're interpreting. AJ's point is that Nyad is a slow swimmer, as in 2:00 per 100 scy at her best, which is roughly eqv of something like a 10 min/mi running pace. So, she's not Frank Shorter either but rather an average swimmer who has incredible tenacity and willpower, at least for a few years of training. I stand by the point i made earlier that the most impressive long distance swimmers are guys/girls like Lynne Cox and Martin Strel, who have done 100s of amazing swims not just one like Nyad. Cox and Strel have been training 4-5 hr/day, 52 wk/yr for 30-40 yrs, not just for 3 yrs in their late 50s/early 60s, plus maybe 10 yrs in her late teens to mid/late 20s.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

I guess I just see a person who can hold 2 per 100 for hours upon hours is pretty amazing. How many could even come close to her?

Again, the turtle always bets the hare.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

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Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

How could you read my post and come away with the idea that I do not think Nyad is impressive. I said it twice. I simply frame it (Nyad) as an endurance feat. Not as a swimming feat.

Actually, i think prob 100s of serious swimmers could do what she did, but most don't have the money to finance a $1 million expedition like Nyad did. If we staged an equivalent event of say swimming 100 miles straight in a pool, i feel fairly confident that many college and masters distance swimmers could finish the 100 miles, with their only stops treading water while taking in fluids/food. Swimming 100 miles straight is very impressive but Nyad is not the only one who can do it. In 2001, Martin Strel swam 313.5 miles in 84 hrs of non-stop swimming in the Danube River, which is AFAIK the WR for longest continuous swim, and is over 3 times as long as Nyad's 100-miler, and about 3 times as fast.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."