British-Australian Swimmer Fails to Cross the Florida Straits

HAVANA TIMES — British-Australian swimmer Penny Palfrey was pulled out of the water this past Sunday morning after swimming for 40 hours in an attempt to cross the Florida Straits, reported the AFP.

Through its Twitter account, the team said the decision to abandon the effort was made after a strong current from the southeast “made it impossible to keep swimming,” though the swimmer was only 26 miles short of completing the 103-mile odyssey.

Palfrey, who began her swim on Friday morning from Havana’s Hemingway Marina, is in perfect health and was attended by her support group.

This past September, American athlete Diana Nyad also failed in her third attempt to cover that same route.