Endurance swimmer Diana Nyad is attempting to break the world record for first person to swim from Cuba to Key West.
Not only is the 64-year-old sportswoman traversing one of the most perilous waters on earth, she's also doing it with no shark cage.
On Monday morning, Nyad, lips and tongue swollen from being underwater for days, was around two miles from Florida. The Associated Press reported that her pace was steady, and she was slated to swim her goal distance of 112 miles by about 5 p.m. EST.
A team of doctors, along with some of her supporters, are traveling alongside Nyad to ensure that nothing fatal happens in the water. They told AP that her lips and tongue are so big, her speech has been slurred a bit. Additionally, they're a bit worried about her breathing, since she's been swimming since Saturday, but they haven't taken action just yet.
Nyad is wearing a full bodysuit, as well as gloves, booties and a face mask to keep her from getting stung.
Nyad began swimming from the Hemingway Marina in Havana in the early morning on Saturday. She's been on the Florida Strait since then, stopping only for food.
During nighttime, the waters get to near-freezing temperatures, but Nyad's team stated it was better she continue swimming to keep warm than to stop for nourishment.
Despite the wild terrain and long hours of endless swimming, Nyad told the press that she still loves the thrill of it all.
"I admit there's an ego rush," Nyad said before she plunged from the seawall in Cuba into the water. "If I-three days from now, four days from now-am still somehow bringing the arms up and I see the shore...I am going to have a feeling that no one yet on this planet has ever had."
Nyad tried to swim the Florida Strait in 2011 and 2012, in addition to her first try in 1978.
She successfully completed the swim in 1997 with the help of a shark cage that not only protects the swimmer, but also aids in pulling the person through the water.
