Diana Nyad Ends Cuba-to-Florida Swim Attempt Due to Jellyfish Stings

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Javier Galeano / AP

U.S. swimmer Diana Nyad begins her swim from Cuba to Florida at the Hemingway Marina in Havana, Cuba, Friday Sept. 23, 2011.

Nearly two-thirds of the way through her endurance journey, a stung and swollen Nyad was advised to get out of the water.

The jellyfish stings came early and often for the 62-year-old marathon swimmer. She soldiered on through the toxic attacks but Sunday was forced to end her 103-mile quest on the advice of her doctors.

She was flanked by shark divers to ward off the ocean giants but could not stay clear of jellyfish and Portuguese Man o’ War. Team member Vanessa Linsley said Nyad was “very swollen” from multiple stings to her face and body. “You can’t control mother nature,” she said.

(READ: Can We Learn to Love the Jellyfish)

“The medical team said I should not go another two nights in the water and risk additional likely Man-of-War stings,” Nyad wrote on Facebook.

Nyad had swam about 67 miles, two-thirds of the journey from Cuba to Florida. She took a brief break Saturday night to recover from the stings, resuming her swim very early Sunday morning. A swim cap covered her face to prevent additional stings, but toxins continued to build up in her body.

That’s why around 11:30 a.m. Eastern, her accompanying doctors advised her to leave the water, saying that another sting could be potentially life-threatening. She also faced strong currents that were pushing her off course.

She kicked off her marathon Cuba-to-Florida swim Friday evening, marking her second attempt in two months. Her August effort was cut short after 60 miles and nearly 29 hours of swimming, blaming a shoulder injury and an asthma attack. She has pursued the dream of crossing the treacherous Florida Straits for decades – her first attempt came in 1978 when she swam for 42 hours before ending the swim.

Nick Carbone is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @nickcarbone. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.

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