Diana Nyad just won't give herself a break from swimming. Not even two months after her record-setting swim from Havana to Key West, Nyad participated in a 48-hour swim to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Sandy.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Nyad jumped into a 40-yard pool in front of Macy's in Manhattan's Herald square Tuesday morning as a fundraiser on the one-year anniversary of the storm. The 64-year-old vowed to swim for 48 straight hours.
"It’s natural to show support and compassion for victims of natural disasters during the moment of tragedy. It’s equally important to show solidarity for those who are still working to repair their lives almost a year later," Nyad said on her website. "This swim is about demonstrating that we continue to stand by their side supporting them as passionately now as we did then."
The swimmer compared her experience two months ago, when she spent nearly 53 hours swimming 110.4 miles to Florida to the one this week. "In Cuba there was this huge emotional pressure," Nyad told Reuters. "That was about setting a record. That was about ego. This is about other people."
Nyad wasn't the only one swimming for the cause – she was joined by Olympic gold-medal swimmer Ryan Lochte, fitness personality Richard Simmons, “Good Morning America” anchor Lara Spencer and a number of New York firefighters, police officers and U.S. Coast Guard members.
Firefighter Tom Dolan was one of the participating swimmers, and when he came out of the pool, he said, "It was unbelievable! To help us keep our energy and focus and realize we are not done yet."
At around the halfway point of Nyad's swim, she had raised over $56,000 for the disaster-relief organization AmeriCares through online donations.
More than 24 hours into her swim Wednesday morning, Nyad had raised more than $56,000.