Dozens of onlookers gathered on the shores of Key West last Monday to celebrate Diana Nyad. At around 2 p.m., the 64-year-old walked ashore after a grueling 53-hour swim across the Straits of Florida to thunderous applause and congratulations. The completion of her journey makes Nyad the first person to ever successfully swim the 103 miles without a protective shark cage.

Nyad started her journey on Saturday, where she jumped from the seawall of the Hemingway Marina at 8:59 a.m. But this was not her first attempt at the record. She dates her obsession with conquering the channel all the way back to age eight, when she first traveled from Cuba to her home town in Florida by boat before the Communist takeover. It wasn’t until 1978, at the age of 28, that she attempted her first cross, however. It quickly came to a close though when rough seas left her beat up and delirious only halfway to her goal.

Her next two attempts didn’t occur until 2011, but both ended when jellyfish stings and breathing problems became too much for her to handle. In her last attempt in 2012, another jellyfish attack combined with a death-threatening lightning storm ended her journey.

In a talk with CNN, Nyad said this attempt was going to be her last try either way. This time, she was equipped with a full bodysuit, gloves, booties and a mask to wear at night to protect her from the jellyfish. A crew of 35 accompanied her, monitoring her health and feeding her at intervals. There were times when the water got so cold that Nyad’s crew feared they would have to stop. They also worried about her breathing, which was reported about on her blog. At one point, her medical team stated, “Diana’s tongue and lips are swollen causing her speech to be slurred. (Her doctors) are concerned about Diana’s airways, but have not intervened.”

Though it was anything but easy, the final swim was a great triumph for Nyad, and, even as she was hooked up to IVs and carried away on a stretcher, she continued to smile and pump her fists.

“I have three messages,” according to several reports from the shore that day. “One is, we should never, ever give up. Two is, you’re never too old to chase your dream. Three is, it looks like a solitary sport, but it is a team.”

Nyad has recovered from her swim and plans on competing in the Hurricane Sandy survivors swim next month. Visit her website to learn more.

Check out the video coverage from CBS below.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57600985/diana-nyad-completes-historic-havana-key-west-swim/

Image courtesy of Dawn L Blomgrin/diananyad.com. Video courtesy of CBS.