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Stringer / Reuters
Penny Palfrey, an Australian-British swimmer starts her attempt to swim to Florida from Havana on Friday.
Updated at 6:40 p.m. ET: Strong currents early on Sunday defeated marathon swimmer Penny Palfrey in her attempt to complete a record-breaking 103-mile swim from Cuba to the United States without a shark cage.
Palfrey, a 49-year-old grandmother, was plucked from the waters of the Florida Straits at about midnight after setting out from Havana on Friday and swimming for more than 40 hours, her team told NBC News.
In a statement, her team said a strong southeast current that made it impossible for her to continue her swim and that she was on an escort boat being taken care off by her support crew.
Palfrey had already made it well past the halfway point across the dangerous body of water that separates communist Cuba from the United States.
"Penny has been 100 percent focused on this swim for a year, so she was quite a bit upset. There were of course some tears. She didn't know what was happening until we told her, so it took a few minutes while she took that in," her husband Chris Palfrey said Sunday at a news conference in Key West, Fla.
She was hospitalized Sunday, receiving IV drips and pain medication. Painful blisters and ulcers under her tongue made it difficult to talk. Her husband said it was too early to discuss the possibility of another attempt.
Her doctor said she was dehydrated and had low blood pressure, but remarked her blood work was fairly normal considering the swim.
"She was still strong, but 41 hours of continuous swimming ... she was physically exhausted," Chris Palfrey said. "It was really only her mental focus that was keeping her going. She was going really, really well but she only had a few more hours in her."
Palfrey, who was born in Britain but lives in Australia, had initially hoped to complete the crossing and arrive somewhere in southern Florida within 40 to 50 hours.
Her swim followed two unsuccessful attempts last year by American marathoner Diana Nyad, now 62, to cross the Florida Straits, which are known for tricky currents and unpredictable weather.
The swim was completed successfully by Australian swimmer Susan Maroney in May 1997, but unlike Nyad and Palfrey she used a shark cage.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
the worst failure is to never have tried, congradulations and better luck next time
(...)
Nicely said.
I would think the worst failure would be to be eaten, but that is just one man's opinion.
This joke Granny is like Trump running for president--it's all about keeping her/his name in the media. Please don't report again prior to a shark attack or serious attempt. There is nothing to see here.
useless posting...
Useless article. Have we not seen this before? I have and I'm sick of publicity stunts without merit.
Fuel, then don't be so stupid to read it. It is very easy.....you see something your don't like...don't read the article. It is that simple. But instead you have to make an azz out of yourself.
Here is an idea, read the headline, if it doesn't say something that grabs you, apparently like "Grandmother Eaten by Shark", then don't read it or post about it. Simple, huh?
This whole thing was stupid from the get go. What a nonsense and self-serving undertaking.
What an ignorant racist you are pissed.
This was Penny Palfrey's first attempt at this feat. Your reading comprehension skill may be an age-related issue for you, though....
Would you care to expand on that Sub? Are Olympic athletes stupidly doing nonsense and only being self-serving? Last summer I went on a several hundred mile solo bike trip; was that stupid nonsense?
Why? What do you have against people who wish to test themselves so?
As usual. . .nothing nice to say by posters.
Has she tried the conventional way of either an inner tube or floating car?
Swimming 103 miles is something most of us will not - and can not - do. The start and end points are meaningless. So choosing "Communist Cuba" to "The Land of The Free" has intentions completely unrelated to any goal of swimming 103 miles.
Try Coney Island to Montauk. Same distance, but no Press.
Why must she be identified -- above all -- as a "grandmother"? She's only 49. She's an athlete in top condition. When a man in his 40s or 50s who happens to have grandchildren does something amazing, do we see him identified in the top headline as a "grandfather"?
Tiny, predictable, sad minds like "Fuel" have already tried to crawl over the word and demonstrably failed. Let's not feed the stupid and shallow further.
Savvy Shopper-4621457 Cuba to USA is more like swimming the East River, against the tide ! Can't be done.
The Florida Straits are chosen because they are the most difficult stretch where it still might be possible. Lots of current, lots of sharks, etc.
It is admirable that she has tried it again, however, since it does not accomplish anything socially redeeming for either her or the general public, it is merely an expensive publicity stunt and there is really nothing gained by it -- except to prove that currents still exist off Florida and nobody else is willing to try to swim there.
This was Penny Palfrey's first attempt at this feat.
Have the people making the negative comments here ever tried a difficult thing in their lives? Just what is the point of their negativity? Maybe, it's jealousy, envy or just plain ignorance. This woman's attempt certainly does have socially redeeming quality as an inspiring act or an illustration of determination and courage. Maybe, saying that she's a grandmother shows that she probably should not be at the top of her physical powers at age 49, but after having and raising children, she still has the strength and fortitude to train for a grueling attempt like this. Socially redeeming for sure. I'm a 65 year old male who has run 14 marathons in my life and Penny Payfrey inspires me.
Maybe this Grandmother just got done reading a “Sarah Palin” book….became Confused, Irrational and Lost her Mind. It seems to be a “Side Effect”.
You BetCha….Fer Sure.
If I did that swim they'd need a cage for the sharks.
50 hours is a long time to be swimming. I can't stay awake that long.
you might if there were sharks circling you...
This would have only been news if there was a "Shark Attack".
Florida is a train-wreck....swimming to Cuba sounds like a better idea.
For all of these stunt attempts, there shouldn't be any support team nearby. What's the point of the stunt if they are being assisted. They can abort the mission any time. The mission has no danger and becomes more of an endurance test.
Without Shark Cage?
They have support team nearby. If THEY see a shark, they would abort the mission. To me, that is not swimming without shark cage.
It is a shame she didn't make it. Obama was waiting for her on the beach with a key to the country and a bunch of free stuff. Wait ! stuff paid for by the American taxpayer.