Actress Marcia Cross trained with Bonnie Stoll and Diana Nyad back when they were running BravaBody. This past Monday, the “Desperate Housewives” star presented Outstanding Achievement in Health & Fitness to her two friends at the 6th Daytime Beauty Awards (DBAs), which benefitted Return To Freedom Wild Horse Conservation.
The DBAs celebrate science behind beauty, health and wellness; honoring professionals in the fields of medicine, health and fitness, aesthetics, skincare, color and styling, CBD & cannabis, beauty innovation and more.
Diana Nyad and Bonnie Stoll were among the honorees, which also included 4x NBA Champion John Salley, Dr. Kellyann, Dr. Peter H. Grossman, Chaz Dean, True Botanicals’ Hillary Peterson and more.
On September 2nd, 2013, Diana Nyad inspired the world to “Never Ever Give Up.” 25 million people cheered the determined athlete on as she approached the Florida shore. After five attempts over 35 years, Diana had swum the 110.86 miles in 52 hours, 54 minutes and 18 seconds at the age of 64.
Not just a solo effort, it took a team. There was no Cuba to Florida swim for Diana Nyad without Bonnie Stoll. Together, the two world-class athletes have achieved greatness. The dynamic duo first met during Bonnie’s rise to becoming the 5th rated racquetball player in the country.
In the 70’s, Diana garnered national attention for completing the 28 miles around Manhattan in record time, before conquering the 102 miles from The Bahamas to Juno Beach, Florida. On the training end, Bonnie went from teaching Physical Education to launching what would be a 30-year career as a personal trainer, working with clients from Diana Ross to Rod Stewart. The friends then came together to create BravaBody, fitness for women over 40.
But it was their joint Cuba to Florida swim venture that would impact the world. Diana had tried her Cuba dream swim at 28 years-old and came out of retirement at age 60, making that dream a reality. She turned to Bonnie to coach as Head Handler in the adjacent escort boat during the journey,Diana’s “Find a Way” philosophy and swimming record was celebrated and adapted into a memoir, an off-Broadway play, a documentary and the hit-Netflix film NYAD, for which Annette Bening and Jodie Foster received Academy Award nominations for their portrayals of Diana and Bonnie.
More recently, the inseparable friends and training partners founded the national health initiative, Everwalk. A former prominent sports journalist, Diana has authored four books and is a sought after motivational speaker.
Both inspirational powerhouses, Diana Nyad and Bonnie Stoll have proven Diana’s very words: “You’re never too old to chase your dreams.”
