The sting of defeat: Grandmother, 62, ends historic attempt at Cuba to Florida swim after being battered by storms and jellyfish during her THREE DAYS in the water

• Diana Nyad, who turns 63 tomorrow, forced to delay swim after storms and box jellyfish stings
• Was making third attempt at 103-mile swim from Cuba to Florida without shark cage
• Team member said Nyad was pulled from water with severe sunburn, strained bicep, and severe stings

Long distance swimmer Diana Nyad, who turns 63 tomorrow, was out of the water this morning after weathering severe storms and jellyfish stings.
Nyad, who was attempting a historic swim from Cuba to Florida, emerged from the water at 7:42 am EST. Team members were unsure of the veteran swimmer would be able to complete the 103-mile crossing.
She was making her third attempt since last summer to become the first person to cross the Florida Straits without a shark cage. She also made a failed try with a cage in 1978.

Throwing in the towel: Endurance swimmer Diana Nyad is aided after she was pulled out of the water between Cuba and the Florida Keys early Tuesday, left, and is seen resting, right, with a bad sunburn and swollen lips

Recovery: The 62-year-old was badly burned from spending nearly 60 hours straight in the water; her lips were also swollen from jellyfish stings

All wet: Endurance swimmer Diana Nyad, pictured swimming yesterday in the Florida Straits, was pulled out of the water just before 8am today

Support crew: Nyad, pictured on August 19, has a team of crew members assisting her historic 103-mile swim; she was attempting the swim without a shark cage

Steve Munatones, a member of Nyad’s support crew, told Good Morning America today that the 62-year-old grandmother is in bad shape.
‘She has deep welts due to the box jellyfish stings,’ he began, adding that Nyad is also severely sunburned, as well as a strained bicep and weakness.
‘She gave it all she can,’ he said.
Nyad had planned to land somewhere in the Florida Keys on Tuesday, a day ahead of her 63rd birthday on Wednesday.
But it would have taken her another 28 to 40 hours to complete the crossing at the time she finally gave up, Reuters reported.
'Instead of getting hit with one doozy they got hit with three,' team member Vanessa Linsley told the Associated Press. 'They got hit with the weather, they got hit with the jellyfish and they got hit with the sharks all at the same time.'
She continued: 'They are discussing with Diana as to how she wants to proceed.'

Once bitten: Nyad, off the coast of Havana, Cuba, takes a break on August 18 after being stung by a jellyfish; she is covered by protective paint to ward off hypothermia

Try, try again: This is Nyad's third time since last summer trying to swim across the Strait

Likely culprit: Nyad's team members aid she was stung repeatedly by box jellyfish, also known as sea wasps (stock image)

The overnight hours Tuesday marked the second straight night of storms encountered by the swimmer.

'They got hit with the weather, they got hit with the jellyfish and they got hit with the sharks all at the same time.'

-Team member Vanessa Linsley

On Monday evening, the swimmer's crew was improvising ways to prevent hypothermia and to fend off further swelling of her lips and tongue.
Though she's swimming in 85-degree waters, because that is lower than the body's core temperature, it will reduce her body temperature over time. Her team said she had been shivering.
'We all know her mind can handle it,' Candace Hogan, a crew member traveling with Nyad, wrote on the swimmer's blog. 'But there will always be a point where a human body can't go any farther. What no one knows is where that line is drawn in Diana Nyad.'

Readying: Nyad, pictured on August 18 before commencing her swim, adjusts her swimming cap as a woman applies a protective ointment to her skin

Making a splash: Nyad jumps into the water to start her swim to Florida from Havana, Cuba on the 18th

Support team: Revelers and members of the media watched as Nyad leaped into the water

Australian Susie Maroney successfully swam the Straits in 1997, but she used a shark cage.
In June, another Australian, Penny Palfrey, made it 79 miles toward Florida without a cage before strong currents forced her to abandon the attempt.
Nyad has already endured jellyfish stings on the current attempt. Stings forced her to cut short her second of two attempts last year as toxins built up in her system.
She has been training for three years for the feat. She is accompanied by a support team in boats, and a kayak-borne apparatus shadowing Nyad helps keep sharks at bay by generating a faint electric field that is not noticeable to humans. 
A team of handlers is always on alert to dive in and distract any sharks that make it through.
She takes periodic short breaks to rest, hydrate and eat high-energy foods such as peanut butter. When she was pulled from the water, she had been awake for some 60 hours straight.