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What an inspiring story. Even if you assume the worst case scenario is accurate about why it wasn't certified, the sheer effort and determination has to be admired. #inspiration #nyad #swimming

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in reply to Hank G ☑️

@Hank G ☑️ It is my understanding the sport had no certification at the time of the swim. It was not until 5 years after that she requested certification from WOWSA, which didnt exist at the time of her swim. It was denied due to lack of documentation, of which there were no requirements at the time of her swim. It was a bogus reason IMO.
in reply to Shelenn Ayres

in reply to Hank G ☑️

@Hank G ☑️ I can't go by pictures... too easy to fake them. I also can't go by people claiming she lied about being abused... too many women and girls are not believed until enough of them stand together. Without authenticated pictures and testimony under oath of many to the contrary, I believe her. I also can find a number of articles that dispute the claims in the one you posted. C'est la vie
This entry was edited (3 months ago)
in reply to Shelenn Ayres

I didn’t bring up her abuse allegations. I take them at face value and others have come forward alleging the same treatment by the coach. That has nothing to do with the rest of the discussion though.
in reply to Hank G ☑️

@Hank G ☑️ Many articles online note her prior behaviors (which you noted) and the abuse allegation along with the certification issue. Why? Because it sells whether true or not. I have no reason to not believe her in any of the points. Even if she said something inappropriate about the guy that did the swim, it was her opinion and the context is unknown to anyone but her. I agree the story itself is quite inspirational and it was a great movie.
in reply to Shelenn Ayres

Her embellishments are beyond that. For example she stated many times she was the first woman to swim around the island of Manhattan. She was not. Worse, in writings of hers back to the mid-1970s she wrote about those who did it before. So it wasn’t she wasn’t aware of it, corrected herself, and never spoke of it again.

At the very end of the movie there is a very touching scene where the real life Bonnie and Diane at some post-swim event. In it Bonnie kind of ribs her about her propensity for embellishment.

Why do some people who accomplish such amazing things feel the need to pump the PR to 11 to the point of bending facts or making things up? I don’t know. It appears she is one of them though.

I still think her accomplishments are amazing and noteworthy. So I’m not going to take that away from her.

https://nyadfactcheck.com/details_manhattan.html