"Eight thousand four hundred. Should I ask the time? No, I know the time. Five hours, thirty-six minutes. Six hundred strokes to go; twenty-four minutes. Hand on, stay strong. Finish strong. Four hundred one, two, three..."
With these words Diana Nyad, former women's world marathon swimming champion, takes us into her mind as she nears the finish of a fifteen mile swin in the icy waters of Lake Ontario. She had said much the same words to herself many times before and would say them innumerable times again in a career that saw her conquer many of the world's most challenging bodies of water.
Other Shores is the compelling story of Diana Nyad's remarkable athletic achievements, but more than that, it is the story of her indefatigable spirit. She recalls her daring north-to-south crossing of Lake Ontario, where the treacherous Niagara River currents had always made such a swim impossible, her media-blitzing, record-setting circuit of Manhattan Island, and her three unsuccessful attempts to cross the English Channel, which showed her that defeat has its lessons too.
With an intellegence and elegance rarely displayed by an athlete, Diana explains what goes into the training --- and selling --- of a world class sportswoman. We see the Spartan life of a woman who always wanted to be the best swimmer in the world. We learn how the sensory deprivation caused by long swims can expand the mind. We begin to understand the complex experience of physical and menatal exertion.
With these words Diana Nyad, former women's world marathon swimming champion, takes us into her mind as she nears the finish of a fifteen mile swin in the icy waters of Lake Ontario. She had said much the same words to herself many times before and would say them innumerable times again in a career that saw her conquer many of the world's most challenging bodies of water.
Other Shores is the compelling story of Diana Nyad's remarkable athletic achievements, but more than that, it is the story of her indefatigable spirit. She recalls her daring north-to-south crossing of Lake Ontario, where the treacherous Niagara River currents had always made such a swim impossible, her media-blitzing, record-setting circuit of Manhattan Island, and her three unsuccessful attempts to cross the English Channel, which showed her that defeat has its lessons too.
With an intellegence and elegance rarely displayed by an athlete, Diana explains what goes into the training --- and selling --- of a world class sportswoman. We see the Spartan life of a woman who always wanted to be the best swimmer in the world. We learn how the sensory deprivation caused by long swims can expand the mind. We begin to understand the complex experience of physical and menatal exertion.
