On september 2, 2013, diana nyad realized her goal of becoming the first person to swim from cuba to florida without a shark cage. it was nyad’s fifth attempt at the record but her first successful swim. nyad fought exhaustion, jellyfish, and seasickness—not to mention the threat of sharks—to complete her historic 103-mile swim.
nyad first got the idea to swim between cuba and florida while on a family vacation to cuba in the 1950s. she looked across the straits of florida and wondered to her mother whether anyone had ever tried to swim across it.
nyad’s first attempt at completing the swim occurred in 1978. at the time, she was 29 years old. raging seas caused nyad to become exhausted and delirious. she also suffered attacks from jellyfish. a jellyfish sting causes toxins to course through a victim’s body, creating a sensation like that of a burn. nyad experienced partial paralysis from the stings and had problems breathing. in the end, she had to abandon her first attempt less than halfway through the swim.
all four of her remaining attempts occurred after nyad turned 60 years old. in 2011, during the swimmer’s second attempt at the record, she suffered an 11-hour-long asthma attack that forced her to abandon her plan. during her third attempt the very next month, jellyfish repeatedly stung nyad. she had to put a halt to the swim.
in 2012, nyad attempted the record for a fourth time. once again, jellyfish were a problem for the swimmer. despite wearing a special suit to ward off stings, nyad was attacked on her lips, a place on her body that remained exposed. she also had sharks circling beneath her and was thrown off course by a storm that passed over while she swam. though disappointed, nyad was forced to abandon the swim once again.
after four failed attempts by nyad, many people were skeptical of her ability to swim across the straits of florida. nonetheless, nyad never gave up. in 2013, she made her fifth and last attempt. this time she took special precautions to avoid some of the difficulties she’d faced during previous attempts. to prevent jellyfish from stinging her, for example, nyad wore a special mask and surgical gloves. her 35-member team, which sailed alongside her in two boats, also keep jellyfish—and sharks—away from the swimmer. team members monitored nyad’s health and provided her with food during the swim, as they had done during previous attempts.
despite nyad’s precautions and the she received from her team, the swimmer still had plenty of challenges to contend with. nyad faced strong winds and sunburn during the swim. she also became sick from swallowing salt water.
nonetheless, after 53 long hours of swimming, the 64-year-old nyad emerged from the water in florida, successful at last. though exhausted, nyad was happy and proud of her achievement.
which of the following statements is a central idea of the text?
a.
some goals require overcoming many challenges.
b.
jellyfish stings are very painful.
c.
swimming is a dangerous activity.
d.
breaking a record is the only reason to try new things.