KEY WEST, Florida (Reuters) - A 64-year-old American long-distance swimmer, Diana Nyad, was closing in on her long time quest to cross the Florida Straits on Monday, attempting to become the first person to swim from Cuba without a shark cage.
Nyad was "really hurting" as she neared her destination of Key West some 48 hours after she set off from Havana, according to blog updates on her website (www.diananyad.com). By early morning on Monday, she was barely 6.5 miles (10.5 km) from completing an estimated 110-mile journey to the Florida Keys.