Woman Swims the Yucatan Channel

Using an anti-shark cage, an Australian woman became the first person to swim from Mexico to Cuba, completing the 122-mile crossing in less than 39 hours. Susie Maroney, 23, touched Cuban soil in the early morning, walking onto the beach at Las Tumbas in western Cuba. “I’m just really relieved that it’s all over,� she said later in Havana. Maroney said she crossed the Yucatan Channel from Mexico’s Isla Mujeres, near Cancun, to Cuba in 38 hours and 25 minutes, swimming in the cage towed by her support team. She suffered jellyfish stings and bruised wrists from hitting the cage but otherwise was in good shape. Last year, Maroney became the first woman to swim from Cuba to Florida.