61 Year-Old Woman Swims From Cuba to Florida

American marathon-swimmer Diana Nyad is set to turn 62 this month, she's also set on claiming a new world record for completing a 103-mile swim from Havana to Key West in 60 hours.  Nyad said her reasons behind the swim are threefold: 1) she attempted the same swim back in 1978, but failed due to unfavorable wave and weather conditions and, 2) she hopes her efforts will improve the long-strained relations between the US and Communist-run Cuba and, 3) to prove that people of a certain age don't have to feel old; that they still have "many, many years of vitality and strength and service left."

Other swimmers in the past have successfully completed the swim in record times.  The interesting and impressive part of Nyad's story is not only her age, but the fact that she is swimming in shark infested waters without a cage.  She is relying heavily on a piece of technology on a nearby kayak that sends out electrical fields that supposedly fend off sharks in the area.  The rules, however, are very stringent and prevent her from coming in physical contact with any of the boats surrounding her.  She stops only once an hour for food and drink before continuing on.

Check out her full story here.