HR0588 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0588 LRB098 13818 GRL 48347 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Diana Nyad on the occasion of being the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the protection of a shark cage; and

WHEREAS, Diana Nyad was born on August 22, 1949 in New York City, New York; after her family moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, she began swimming competitively in the 7th grade; in the mid-1960s, she was enrolled at the private Pine Crest School, where she swam under the tutelage of Olympian and Hall of Fame coach Jack Nelson; during this time, she won three Florida State high school championships; after graduating from Pine Crest School in 1967 and briefly attending Emory University, she enrolled at Lake Forest College, where she resumed swimming and started training in distance events; she graduated from Lake Forest College in 1973 with a degree in English and French; and

WHEREAS, After college, Diana Nyad began concentrating on distance swimming; in 1979, she swam from the Bimini Islands in the Bahamas to Florida, setting a distance record for non-stop swimming without a wetsuit that still stands today; she also broke many world records during this time, including the women's record of 8 hours, 11 minutes in the 22-mile Bay of Naples race in 1974; in 1975, she made national headlines by swimming 28 miles around the island of Manhattan in 7 hours and 57 minutes, breaking the 45-year-old record; in 1979, she set a world record for distance swimming over open water by swimming 102 miles from North Bimini Island, Bahamas, to Juno Beach, Florida without the use of a protective shark cage, completing the swim in 27 hours and 30 minutes; and

WHEREAS, By January of 2010, Diana Nyad was determined to begin training for a summer attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida. Taking up residence in the Caribbean island of St. Maarten, from January through June she began doing 8-, 10-, 12-, and 14-hour swims every other week; on July 10, 2010, at the age of 60, she began open water training for a 60-hour, 103-mile swim from Cuba to Florida; a combination of adverse weather conditions and jellyfish stings prevented her from completing attempts in August and September of 2011, but Diana Nyad would not be deterred; after another attempt in August of 2012 was thwarted by jellyfish stings, she decided to wear a silicone mask, a full bodysuit, gloves, and booties for protection; and

WHEREAS, On the morning of August 31, 2013, Diana Nyad began her fifth bid to swim from Havana, Cuba to Florida, a distance of about 110 miles, without a shark cage; before reaching Florida, she broke a 2012 distance record for the Cuba to Florida swim, putting Nyad closer to Key West than anyone swimming without a shark cage; at approximately 12:55 PM Central Time on September 2, 2013, she reached the beach in Key West, about 53 hours after she began her journey; and

WHEREAS, Diana Nyad serves as a model of hard work, courage, and determination for the people of the State of Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Diana Nyad on the occasion of being the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the protection of a shark cage and wish her continued success and happiness in her future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Diana Nyad as a symbol of our esteem and respect.