For ten years (1969-1979), Diana Nyad was the greatest long distance swimmer in the world. In 1978, she attempted to swim 100 miles from Cuba to Florida. After being in the water for 41 hours and 49 minutes, the one of the most well known women speakers fell short of her goal due to strong currents and bad weather. In 1979, she stroked the longest swim in history making the 102.5 mile journey from the island of Bimini (Bahamas) to Florida. She also broke numerous world records, including what had been a 50-year mark for circling Manhattan Island, setting the new time of 7 hrs 57 min. Finally, at the age of 64 and after four attempts over three decades, Nyad fulfilled her lifelong dream of becoming the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage. Nyad swam 110 miles in just under 53 hours over the Labor Day holiday weekend 2013, emerging from the water with still enough energy to walk on the shore.
In January of 1998, Diana and her teammates bicycled the 1,200 miles from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam--perhaps the biggest step toward full reconciliation since the war. The documentary film of that reconciliation ride "Vietnam: Long Time Coming" won the Emmy in 1998.
Diana is a member of the National Women’s Hall of Fame and the International Swimming Hall of Fame. The motivational speaker is a board member of World T.E.A.M. Sports, an organization that puts able-bodied and disabled athletes together for unique sporting adventures around the world.
Diana is also co-founder of the fitness company, BravaBody, which targets women 40+. For decades, Diana has been at the heart and soul of the baby boom generation, many of whom are feeling irrelevant, lacking in vitality, and dejected that their best days are behind them. The authentic message, the walk that Diana walks, will resonate with millions of baby boomers looking for renewal, parents hoping their children spark to inspired lives, and women searching for proof that middle age is their prime, not the beginning of the end.
Over the past twenty years, Diana has earned a reputation as a stellar public speaker. She combines her talent for dramatic story-telling with a natural sense of humor and a charismatic stage presence. One of the few women speakers who never uses notes -- she speaks from her heart and her audiences are both riveted and inspired.
Diana Nyad shares the amazing, inspiring firsthand account of her record-breaking swim, after four failed attempts, from Cuba to Florida, at the age of sixty-four in her upcoming memoir Find a Way. In the book, the motivational speaker tells the passionate, singularly inspiring story of this feat of epic endurance and the extraordinary life experiences and lessons that helped her to realize her dream. This is the story of an unforgettable journey -- physical, spiritual, emotional, psychological -- and a galvanizing meditation on facing fears, engaging our passions, and living life with no regrets.Diana has written three other books: Other Shores, Basic Training, and Boss of Me: The Keyshawn Johnson Story. She also frequently contributes to The New York Times.
Both following and at both airports (even in San Diego when I landed a woman came up and introduced herself as being from APC), the feedback that I received on Diana Nyad was that she was the absolute best speaker. The gal in San Diego (and I didn’t even ask her) said, “I have never heard a speaker as powerful as Diana Nyad. She is a storyteller, so articulate, yet funny, real and I was blown away.”
"I literally went through a roller coaster of emotions listening to her speak. In my opinion, she is the most inspirational speaker I've ever listened to. Also as we all know there are two parts to a speech: content and delivery. She nailed both!"
“Diana was fantastic and truly one of the most dynamic and energizing people I’ve ever met. Her almost 90-minute presentation was awesome and there was, of course, a rousing and heartfelt standing ovation. No surprise there! We had a long line for the book signing as well! What a remarkable person!!"