NOT often do I venture far from my music-film-authors obsession to write about sports, but I could not resist the chance to speak to Diana Nyad, the record-breaking swimmer and NPR commentator who has decided, in her 60s, to swim more than 100 miles between Cuba and Florida.
We spoke about regrets, physical endurance, killer sharks, nasty jellyfish and the importance of Neil Young for the site SecondAct.
“I used to be a thoroughbred racehorse,” she told me, explaining that her style was more graceful when she was young. “I’d get colds all the time — but I was fast. Now I’m more like a Clydesdale. I’m much stronger.”
Here is my full piece.
Nyad takes off on her journey — twice postponed now — as soon as the weather cooperates. The Misread City wishes her luck.