- Title: Cuba: Record-Breaking 120 Mile Swim From Mexico
- Date: 1st June 1998
- Summary: Australian marathon swimmer Susie Maroney, braving sharks and jellyfish, unpredictable seas and a last-minute hold-up by Cuban authorities, reached Cuba early on June 1 after a record-breaking 120 mile (192 km) swim from Mexico. "Susie Maroney is on the beach now," Joe Pignatiello, the event co-ordinator, told Reuters by satellite telephone from a vessel at Las Tumbas beach in western Cuba, where Maroney touched shore at 5:03 am local time (0903 GMT). The 23-year-old Australian swimmer walked wearily ashore after spending well over 30 hours in the water. She was greeted by waiting journalists and Cuban officials. "She's in good health," Pignatiello said. He added she would first be examined by a doctor and would probably then travel to Havana on board one of the support vessels. Maroney's two brothers, who with her mother had accompanied the swim aboard one of the support boats, joined the swimmer in the water for the last few yards (metres) to the beach. They escorted her after she left the protection of the shark-proof cage she had used for the entire trip. The swimmer reached Las Tumbas beach after being obliged to swim several extra miles along the coast when the Cuban authorities refused to allow her to come ashore at a lighthouse at Cabo de San Antonio. They recommended she continue on to the beach. Pignatiello estimated that Maroney, who left Mexico on May 30, had covered around 123 miles (196 km) on her gruelling swim. He said this was a new world distance record for unassisted, open water swimming. Maroney had originally intended to cover 145 miles (233 km) from Isla Mujeres, Mexico, to Maria La Gorda in Cuba. But as she neared Cuba's western tip, the Cape of San Antonio, late on May 31, she decided to shorten the final part of the swim and come ashore, originally at the lighthouse and then, following the Cuban refusal, at Las Tumbas. Rough seas during the early part of the trip partly damaged the shark-proof cage. A hole in the mesh of the cage was patched with a net. Maroney also wore a Lycra skinsuit to protect her from jellyfish stings. Her support crew had been worried about the danger from sharks, especially at the end of the swim, when Maroney would have to leave the cage to reach the shore. But no incidents were reported. The Australian swimmer, who had prepared for her ordeal on a diet of baby foods, marshmallow and custard, set a record for marathon ocean swimming last year when she crossed the 108 miles (173 km) separating Cuba from Florida.
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- Location: CUBA LAS TUMBAS
- Reuters ID: LDL00128X7QRZ
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
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- Copyright Holder: Reuters Archive
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