A bronze plaque honoring endurance swimmer Diana Nyad was unveiled on the Key West beach where she successfully ended a 53-hour swim from Havana without a shark cage.
Nyad staggered ashore at Smathers Beach on Sept. 2, 2013, after swimming 110 miles. It was her fifth attempt to complete the Cuba-to-Florida swim.
"So many people ask me, as I was swimming up to the shore, could I even believe it? But I could. I had that vision for 35 years that I would see the beautiful shore of Key West here," Nyad said in a press release. "I never lost faith in it."
But the swimmer says she won't be making that journey again.
"When someone says to me, 'Are you going to do it again?', I just shake my head and say, 'Are you insane? Why would I do that again?' There are other mountains to climb," Nyad said. "This one was a 35-year dream, and it's over. How could you have a better story and a better ending?"
At the ceremony, Nyad said she plans to walk from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in 2016 to raise awareness for obesity prevention.
The city also has commissioned a life-size metal sculpture of Nyad.
Local
On Saturday, Nyad received Cuba's Order of Sporting Merit award. First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel called Nyad's feat a symbol of friendship between Cuba and the U.S.
