Swimmer Circling Manhattan to Help Sick Kids

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Dominican world-record swimmer Marcos Diaz, who fought childhood asthma by exercising in the Caribbean waters, faced a new challenge on Saturday: a nonstop, 20-hour swim around Manhattan.

His aim is to raise money for poor Dominican children with cancer, and to start a program for youngsters with asthma.

``I started to swim when I was 6, to improve my lungs and my breathing,'' said Diaz, 32, who plunged into the water Saturday evening, at the point where the Hudson River joins the East River.

PHOTO: Diaz is surrounded by supporters as he prepares for the swim on Saturday.

He planned to circle the island twice and finish the 60-mile swim by Sunday afternoon at the Dyckman Marina in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood, which is the heart of New York's Dominican community.

In a protective swimsuit, he planned to circle Manhattan at more than 4 mph, with a support boat following. A bottle or cup with nutritional fluids would be placed into the water about every 20 minutes along with, if needed, pieces of fruit or candy.

Diaz's team aboard the boat was to measure the changing currents so he could opt for the swimming route of least resistance.
There will be a party after the swim on Sunday, but Diaz isn't sure he'll partake.

``The doctors will decide if I go to rest, or I can party,'' he said.

In 2005, Diaz set the speed record between two continents when he crossed the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco both ways in 8 hours, 34 minutes. He's also a two-time winner of the Toroneos Gulf Crossing in Greece, and has swum across the English Channel.

The Manhattan swim is to benefit children with leukemia in the Dominican Republic, at the Robert Reid Cabral Children's Hospital in the capital of Santo Domingo.

He lives in the city with wife, Natalia Bentz, who is also his manager.

Together, they fun the Marcos Diaz Foundation, which is seeking corporate and private donations to fund treatments for the cancer-stricken children and to start a program for kids with asthma.

Diaz said the Dominican government is sponsoring his New York marathon swim.

While he's a professional swimmer, he says that his athleticism is ``above sports. It's about social impact.''

He points to his success despite his asthma as a lesson to anyone: ``Everyone can achieve their dreams despite physical limitations.''

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