“Debilitating” Jellyfish Sting Ends Chloe McCardel’s Florida-to-Cuba Swim

PHOENIX, Arizona, June 12. ABOUT 11 hours into her attempt to become the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the use of a shark tank, Chloe McCardel has ended her swim after a dangerous jellyfish sting made it impossible for her to continue.

The irony of jellyfish ending the 28-year-old Aussie's swim will not likely be lost on McCardel and her crew. She chose mid-June as the best time to make the swim, as the likelihood of large schools of jellyfish was lower this time of year.

A post on McCardel's Facebook page said the crew was taking her to a hospital in Key West, Fla., to treat her injuries at 10 pm Eastern Daylight Time, but did not give details on the extent of the damage the jellyfish sting did to McCardel.

Jellyfish have been the top enemy for those attempting to traverse the Atlantic Ocean from Cuba to the United States. Even Susie Maroney, who completed the crossing in 1997 using a shark cage, had numerous stings on her body. Though the weather was cited as the official causes for their failed crossings, Diana Nyad and Penny Palfrey were both hampered by jellyfish that made swimming for an extended time quite difficult, causing them at times to not achieve the stroke rate needed to stay on course.

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