HAVANA, Sept. 25 -- U.S long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad on Sunday gave up her third attempt to swim across the Florida Strait after bitten by jellyfish.

Nyad, 62, was trying to be the first person to swim across the Florida Stratit without a steel shark cage but she withdrew her attempt at about 1100 local time (1500 GMT), 40 hours after she left Havana and she had covered two thirds of the 166 km total distance.

"The medical staff said I shouldn't spend another two nights in the water and risk myself to be bitten by the jellyfish. The bites could cause a long-term accumulative effect in my body," Nyad said before she got in the escort boat.

"For all of us, isn't life deciding our own finish line? This journey has been about reaching our own shore, no matter which one is, and this dream still continues," she added.

Nyad tried to cross the Florida first in 1978 but withdrew due to the bad weather after 42 hours in the sea. Last month she had a second attempt in which she covered half of the distance in 29 hours.

【体坛英语资讯：U.S. swimmer Diana Nyad fails to cross Florida Strait】相关文章：

★ 体坛英语资讯：Hurdler Liu to skip Golden League for Games

★ 体坛英语资讯：Diving champ marries pop singer

★ 体坛英语资讯：Yao-Yi matchup could set ratings records

★ 体坛英语资讯：Barcelona defeats Beijing Guoan 3-0 in 1st game of Asia tour

★ 体坛英语资讯：England fails to qualify for Euro 2008

★ 体坛英语资讯：Russia march on to quarters, Israel beat Croatia

★ 体坛英语资讯：Beijing Olympic Flame arrives in Bangkok

★ 娱乐英语资讯：Rod Stewart bans daughter from modeling undieworld

★ 体坛英语资讯：Ekstroem beats Schumacher in Wembley final

★ 体坛英语资讯：Host China need consistency to face Russia at FIVB Grand Prix Finals