At the age of 64, after four failed attempts, in 2013 she finally completed the 62-plus hour swim. The film stars Annette Bening in the titular role, playing this extraordinary powerhouse of a woman, supported by Jodie Foster in the role of Nyad’s former lover, close friend and irrepressible coach Bonnie Stoll.
The fearless, albeit reckless, award-winning champion endured the risk of hypothermia and exposure amid shark infested waters, lethal jelly fish, and other assorted sea creatures the likes of which have discouraged many (sane) champion swimmers, though Nyad’s crossing of these treacherous waters wasn’t the first such triumph. She follows 22-year-old Australian Susie Maroney, who completed the swim in 1997 in 24 hours, 31 minutes. It must be said that Maroney’s first attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida is mentioned in the film; however, the film failed to acknowledge her triumphant swim which preceded Nyad’s by over fifteen years. Along with long-distance swimmer Walter Poenisch, who swam the route in 1978, they remain the only three swimmers to have successfully made that journey. What stands Nyad apart from her illustrious peers was her refusal to swim within the protection of a shark cage, instead relying on an electronic repellent and a team of divers to help deter any up-close and personal encounters with sharks.
NYAD is the first feature film from documentarians Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, who were the team that delivered Free Solo, and The Rescue. While their inclusion of archival footage of Nyad is used effectively, their focus was on this final swim in Nyad’s career, and her obsessive need to fulfill this ambition against overwhelming odds. But in doing so, they largely neglected her backstory, which included a coach who sexually abused her during her teenage years, and the father she loved often reminding her that she was destined for the ocean due to the etymology of her name, Nyad, which means sea nymph in Greek.
It’s an exhilarating ride taking in the behind-the-scenes machinery, and the blood, sweat, and tears it took Nyad to achieve her life-long dream. The heart and soul of the film is centered on the bond between Nyad and Stoll, and Bening’s and Foster’s performances are expected to win big in the upcoming awards season.
In the ageist and sexist culture in which we live, Nyad is a much-needed breath of fresh air.
Streaming on Netflix from November 3.
