Not more than 6-months after Diana Nyad crossed the 110-mile open waters between Cuba and Key West, known as the Straits of Florida. Now, she takes on a challenge that is bound to be more aggravating, treacherous, and full of shark-infested waters than any challenge she's yet faced. What could be worse than swimming from Cuba alone?
She's about to become a contestant on Dancing With The Stars.
In the Straits of Florida, Nyad was stung by poisonous jellyfish till her mouth and tongue were so swollen she couldn't speak or even breathe properly - and that's just the tip of the iceberg. No doubt, those lessons will come in handy as she stands in front of a panel of "judges" that will criticize her dancing abilities through oddly patronizing foreign accents.
It'll be especially funny when other contestants start complaining about the rigors of having to dance so much. We're particularly hoping for a bitch scene from former Full House star Candace Cameron Bure, where the 63-year old Nyad can casually mention that she swims 48 plus hours whenever she feels like it (which she did only a month after crossing the straits, which took her 53 hours).
As if rooting for a marathon swimmer that proved it's not impossible to swim to Miami from Cuba wasn't enough, Diana Nyad is also a product of Fort Lauderdale. To add to her cool points, she randomly wrote a biography of former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson and was kicked out of Emory University because she jumped out of a four-story window with a parachute.
Her main competition, along with Cameron, will be The Price Is Right Host Drew Carey, Olympians Charlie White and Meryl Davis. In hopes to grab the super nerd audience, Danica McKellar who played Winnie Cooper in The Wonder Years (now a well known math babe) will join, as well as Lando Calrissian himself, Billy Dee Williams.
Nyad will be counting on all of South Florida's support when Dancing With The Stars premieres on March 17. The show airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. EST, on ABC.
