Hall of Fame swimmer has come long distances to become an empowering role model for women

At least once a day Diana Nyad is acknowledged by someone – usually a woman – for her achievements as a swimmer. Her heyday in the water was in the 1970s, a long time ago by almost anyone’s standards. But Nyad was not just any swimmer: she was a world champion; she was dominant; she broke records and left a mark in a way that no long distance swimmer has done since. Nyad, while in her 20s, empowered thousands of women of all ages while owning the open waters. Although she gave up the sport at 30 – early for today’s swimmers (think Dara Torres), but typical in 1979 – her ability to empower women across the world proved timeless.

Empowering women, particularly those over 50, is the main goal Nyad and her best friend and business partner Bonnie Stoll aim for with BravaBody, their company that, in Nyad’s words, provides “information, inspiration and exercise” to its clients.
“Men, even if they’re not where they want to be with their bodies, they’re not going to kick themselves and keep themselves from enjoying life,” says Nyad.” (But) there is a tremendous shame with women. … By the time you’re our age (many women) have just given up.”

The concept first came to Nyad and Stoll – a former professional racquetball player – when they were vacationing with a group of women around their same age. Their discussions turned to the challenges facing middle-aged women, and what they learned was that these women had specific (and, thus far) unmet desires with respect to fitness regimens.
So the ladies set a course for creating BravaBody, which focuses not only on physical fitness training, but also on empowering women considered “past their prime” to take care of their emotional and psychological fitness.
“Taking care of that body and being as fit as one can be allows you to handle the heartache in life,” says Nyad, who believes she and Stoll can be leaders in an industry that hasn’t yet recognized the market they’ve tapped into. This could be a “movement,” she asserts.

What better person to lead a new movement than Nyad, a naturally driven person who has a habit of tackling anything put in front of her. As a child growing up in Ft. Lauderdale, world-class swimming and tennis coaches and facilities were at her fingertips. She gravitated towards the pool, since she thought that was something to which she could dedicate long-term vision. At 10 years old, she was told by her coach that she was going to be the best swimmer in the world. After that, how could she not focus her energy on swimming? (However, she pointed out to me that she was quite the squash player, too!)
But it wasn’t just the pursuit of medals and records that got Nyad into the pool every day for six hours. Although somewhat privileged, her home life was made nightmarish by a sexually abusive father. She told me she would have done anything simply “to get out of that house!”
“I would stand outside (my home) and think ‘How will I get through the front room and the reading room and get by my father?’”

Nyad felt safe while in the pool, and her long, hard years of training as a teenager eventually paid off. After failing to qualify for the 1968 Olympics in the 100m Backstroke, she took the advice of a friend and switched to the then-new sport of marathon swimming. Over the next decade, she would establish herself as one of the greatest long-distance swimmers ever.
In 1979 she swam a 102.5 mile course from the island of Bimini to Florida – the longest swim in history. It took her more than two days of constant swimming, and she held that record up until 1997, when it was bested by Susie Maroney. Nyad broke numerous world records, including the 50-year old mark for circling Manhattan Island in 1975.She did it in 7 hours, 57 minutes.)

Although she concedes that she had plenty left in the tank when she retired at 30, she has no regrets, especially since she went on to great accomplishments in other arenas. For two years, President of ABC Sports Roone Arledge pursued Nyad to come on board his successful Wide World of Sports program. For the next two decades she would work for ABC and Fox Sports News, covering marathons, triathlons and Olympic Games, as well as reporting on issues in sports. A whole new generation of sports fans – perhaps even ones who knew nothing of Nyad’s swimming glory – got to know her as a first-rate sports reporter.
And, through all this time, through all the limelight she basked in during her adult life, Diana Nyad was out.
“When I was a swimmer I was always out,” Diana says, remarking that she never wanted to be a spokesperson for gay rights, but at the same time never hid her sexual orientation or relationship status.
Arledge, she says, hesitated to make her a “star” on the network due to his fear that the public would not accept her. Nyad thinks he was wrong, but has never belabored the situation. Between her broadcasting work, book-writing and public speaking engagements, Nyad had plenty to keep herself busy, and didn’t need to rely on anyone else for her success.

At a very young 60, Nyad still has things she wants to accomplish. Her latest notion is a one-woman show, which she hopes in the next five years will take the place of the corporate speeches she is used to giving. And while she looks forward to improvements in gay equality, she admits she hasn’t been (and still doesn’t want to be) a leader in this domain.
“It’s been a bit of a quagmire for me,” Nyad admitted. “I have given, quite frankly, very little to gay rights.”
Dealing with the criticism she receives for not “wearing the badge” of gay rights is tempered by knowing that she gives money and of herself to multiple charitable interests, and by the knowledge that others best suited for that work are making headway.
In the meantime, anyone looking for a little bit of empowerment need look no further than Nyad.

THE DIANA NYAD FILE
Business: BravaBody Custom Workouts (www.BravaBody.com)
Occupation: Coach, Public Speaker, Author, Radio Host
Age: 60
Resides: Southern California
Education: Graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Speaks 4 Languages
Hall of Fame Memberships: 4 (National Women’s Hall of Fame, International Swimming Hall of Fame, Lake Forest College Hall of Fame, Pine Crest School Hall of Fame)