I suppose Diana Nyad’s feat illustrates the gulf between world-class athletes and the rest of us. And also just the sheer stubbornness it takes to succeed at that level.
As age goes, though, I think it’s hard to top Emma Gatewood’s achievement in 1955 at age 67 to be the first woman to solo hike the Appalachian Trail. As a young backpacker, I had heard tales of the legendary Grandma Gatewood, but only learned about her story a few years ago. This is a pretty good account of her life:
I suppose Diana Nyad’s feat illustrates the gulf between world-class athletes and the rest of us. And also just the sheer stubbornness it takes to succeed at that level.
As age goes, though, I think it’s hard to top Emma Gatewood’s achievement in 1955 at age 67 to be the first woman to solo hike the Appalachian Trail. As a young backpacker, I had heard tales of the legendary Grandma Gatewood, but only learned about her story a few years ago. This is a pretty good account of her life:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandma_Gatewood