Diana Nyad becomes the first to swim to the U.S. from Cuba with no shark cage.

It took about 53 hours for the 64-year-old to reach Key West, Florida when she was escorted by her team consisting of 35 people.

The American lady had earlier promised that this was going to be the last time she would attempt crossing the 177km (110 mile) wide Florida Straits. She faced excited TV journalists after achieving the feat and said that she had 3 messages. The first of them is that one should never give up in life. Second, you are never so old that you cannot go for your dreams. And finally, one may think that this sport is performed and managed by a single person, but it takes a team to make the achievement.

Ms Nyad is an endurance swimmer who attempted the same swim once in 1978, twice in 2011 and another time in 2012. It was around 18:00 GMT (14:00 local time) when she moved out of water. About 200 supporters were there waiting to congratulate her on this unique feat. They blew horns and cheered for the lady.

Along with a bodysuit, booties and gloves, Ms Nyad was wearing a silicone mask in order to protect the face from stings of the jellyfish. Last time, she failed in her attempt in 2012 due to the jellyfish stings. It was already acknowledged on her part that the kit was expected to slow the swimmer down a little bit. On the other hand, it was also expected to be proven effective in the process.

President Barack Obama was prompt at congratulating her. He tweeted, referring to her feat that one should never give up on their dreams.

Nyad said that it was her life-long dream, and she was extremely glad that she had achieved it in her last attempt. The medical personnel were anxious about her breathing and slurry speech while she was talking to the TV journalist. However, they preferred not to intervene as she was talking about the greatest achievement of her life to the world.

Video source: YouTube/AssociatedPress