Has 61-Year-Old Marathon Swimmer Diana Nyad Had a Urine Drug Screen Lately?

 
The Washington Post caption to this picture reads, “Diana Nyad, at age 61, prepares for second attempt to swim from Cuba to Key West,” but a better one would have been: At 61, Diana Nyad looks like a member of the 1970-80’s East German Women’s Olympic Swim Team. [See update at bottom!]

Diana Nyad, at age 61, prepares for second attempt to swim from Cuba to Key West

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Swimming with sharks at age 61: Legendary long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad is ready to make the trek again from Cuba to Key West, and this time finish.

By Sally Jenkins, Published: May 25

A couple of years ago, swimming legend Diana Nyad was emceeing a swank awards banquet in the Waldorf Astoria ballroom in New York when she suddenly woke up the crowd by stripping off her dress. Standing on stage in nothing but a swimsuit and high heels, dangling her cleavage, she further enlivened the affair by whipping out a bugle and playing reveille.

She was nearing 60 then. Now she’s 61, and just the other day she made a Hamptons cocktail party come alive by popping a bicep, to prove she’s still capable of swimming from Cuba to Florida. She rolled up her sleeve and flexed a muscle the size of a small cannonball. Conversation stopped, replaced by sharp intakes of breath, followed by upset glasses of wine and fumbled cheese wedges.

Some time in June or July, when the weather permits, Nyad will attempt a 103-mile swim from Cuba to Key West through the shark-infested waters of the Florida Straits. This will be no mere party stunt to show off her physique — think of Helen Mirren with brawn. Nyad intends to challenge the limits of the mind and calendar by finishing a job she started 32 years ago, when she was the greatest endurance swimmer in the world….

Update: 3:04 a.m., on Thursday, May 26, 2011: Until a few minutes ago, the Washington Post article listed 19 comments. However, when I hit the link, I got "Page Not Found," and the article now claims that it has "0" comments. My hunch is that some readers commented on Nyad's mannish appearance, and/or questioned her sexuality, and/or questioned her ability to come up with some clean urine, and the Post's censors responded by deleting the entire thread.