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Nyad To Attempt Record Setting Cuba To Keys Swim

MIAMI (CBS4) – American endurance swimmer Diana Nyad is hoping to make history on Sunday when she attempts to swim from Cuba to the Florida Keys.

If she succeeds, the 61-year old Nyad will be the first person to swim the Florida Straits without a shark cage. The swim is expected to take about 60 hours.

During her attempt she won't be alone. Emergency crews in boats will be with her during the entire 103 mile journey. To deter any sharks, support team members in kayaks will paddle inches from Nyad's side towing underneath them an electronic 'shark shield' which emits a harmless electrical impulse which repels most species of sharks.

Nyad plans to begin her record-setting attempt off the point of Havana's Marina Hemingway at 7 p.m.

In 1979, Nyad set a record for non-stop swimming without a wetsuit when she swam from Bimini to Florida in two days. That record still stands.

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