The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • C3

Sunday, March 13, 2016 Orlando Sentinel Sunday Sports C3 SWIMMING AUTOS WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP LUNCHEON Nyad finds success through failure Woman who swam from Cuba to Florida in 13 at age 64 set to speak at event "The strongest qualities of a leader are a long list Its not just one natural-born thing" Diana Nyad By Stephen Ruiz Staff Writer Diana Nyad is coming, and oh, the stories she could tell. Nyad, who became the first person to swim from Cuba to the United States without a shark cage in 2013, will speak at the ninth annual Women's Leadership Luncheon at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando on Thursday. Tickets for the event, sponsored by the United Way of Florida, are $85. "I am not an expert in what the psychology and history of leadership is," said Nyad, 66. "I am not there to say, 'You can be a better leader if you do this and The Sentinel spoke to Nyad about the importance of perseverance, the wisdom of failure and how she wants America to take small steps on a long journey.

Orlando Sentinel: You succeeded in swimming from Cuba to the US. on your fifth try at 64 years old. Given those circumstances, did the achievement mean more? Diana Nyad: "This wound up being much deeper and more profound, emotional and historical than had I done it when I was 28 years old. To chase a dream that seemed almost impossible and to fail and to almost die with the box jellyfish and to have a team that doesn't get paid a cent stick with you "When Roger Federer goes to his knees and weeps at the end of Wimbledon, it is not just because he won. You understand the years of focus and sacrifice." OS: What did failure teach you? DN: "Everything.

It's Diana Nyad walks onto the beach at Key West in 2013 after Nyad, who knows a little bit about perseverance, will speak ANDY NEWMANAFP completing her historic swim from Cuba to the United States. at a leadership luncheon in Orlando on Thursday. If you go What: Ninth annual Women's Leadership Luncheon, hosted by the United Way of Florida Keynote speaker: Long-distance swimmer and author Diana Nyad When: Thursday registration, 11:30 a.m.; program and lunch, p.m. Where: Rosen Centre Hotel (9840 International Drive, Orlando) Tickets: $85 per person or $1,500 for a corporate table of 10. All proceeds will go toward improving literacy in area schools.

Details: UWWomensLeadership.org, Womens LeadershipHFUW.org the old Teddy Roosevelt quote, which I had on my desk during all of the training of that last year. I looked at it every single day. The failures were public and crushing to train like that. "Teddy Roosevelt puts it, 'You sit in your comfortable armchair. You be the critic.

You watch this other guy in the ring get bloodied and dirtied and suffer and fall and fail. I'd rather be that guy who always fails. At least, he has the courage to try. I don't want to be that cold, timid soul who never knows success, because you're never going to know OS: What makes a good leader? a leader are a long list. It's not just one natural-born thing.

"When I speak to a leadership group, I don't say the word 'leader' or It is up to them whether they look at me like a leader and they extrapolate what are those qualities. "I am about to lead America into becoming a nation of walkers. I am starting a movement called EverWalk. They're going to walk long stretches, Orlando to Miami, Boston to New York, Chicago to Minneapolis, Los Angeles to San Diego. I will be at the front of the crowd." OS: How was the idea for the walk developed? DN: "I guess the phrase born or made? DN: "You can learn to be a good leader.

Other things, we are born with. We are born with a spirit. We are born with a will. The strongest qualities of NASCAR SPRINT CUP AT PHOENIX, 3:30, WOFL-35 Harvick pursuing 8th career Phoenix win INDYCAR SERIES OPENER AT ST. PETERSBURG, 12:30, ABC Rahal leads strong group of Americans du jour from Dr.

James Levine at Mayo Clinic is, 'Sitting is the new We can find plenty of people who are doing Ironman triathlons and running marathons and in great shape, but we can find many, many more who do nothing. We have become a very sedentary society. "The underlying current for my life is feeling well. If someone called me tomorrow and said, 'Hey, Diana, we have a group going to Machu Picchu to hike way up into the mountains. We are leaving tomorrow.

Somebody dropped out. Is there any chance you would I am ready. Now. "I feel so sorry for people who don't know their bodies and have lost their bodies to obesity, heart disease, diabetes." (The first walk is planned for September. For more details, go to everwalk2016.com.) OS: What makes you most proud? DN: "I am not going to have a headstone because I don't believe in burials, but on the proverbial headstone, I wouldn't mind if someone wrote, 'She was the best friend you could ever Friendship is the deepest value I have." sruiz orlandosentinel.com "I would not discount him being able to drive up from his starting position," Kyle Busch said.

"I don't think you can ever count out Harvick." Meanwhile, expect Johnson to be extra careful locking in his steering wheel after it came off in his hands in qualifying Friday, leading to a scary wreck. "I was sitting there with no steering and no steering wheel and staring at the blue wall," Johnson said. "I was along for the ride at that point." Johnson, who took the blame for the incident, was forced to a backup car and will start at the rear of the field. He was 13th fastest in the final practice. Joe Gibbs Racing took the top three spots in qualifying, with Edwards joining Kyle Busch on the front row and Denny Hamlin starting third.

This will be the first test for NASCAR's new downforce and aerodynamics package on a mile track. Goodyear has also brought new tires to Phoenix. Drivers indicated it has been slick in the fourth turn. Today's starting grid, C8 LUIS M. ALVAREZASSOCIATED PRESS Graham Rahal drives during practice for today's IndyCar series opener in St.

Petersburg. DN: "Someone willing to take a risk, someone not willing to let her life go idly by, someone brave enough to fail, even in a big, public view." OS: Are good leaders And while Rahal's team is expected to be a one-car team for most of the season, they will run Spencer Pigot, an American who won the Indy Lights title last year, in a handful of races. KVSH Racing is down to just one full-time entry for Sebastien Bourdais, who won twice last year and wants to be in title contention this year. Ed Carpenter Racing is also down to just one full-time entry after the partnership with Sarah Fisher and Wink Hartman dissolved during the offseason New-garden will run for the championship, and Carpenter will run the oval races. Schmidt Peterson Motor-sport will have its regular lineup with the return of James Hinchcliffe, who missed most of last season after a near-fatal accident in practice for the Indianapolis 500.

Today's starting grid, C8 JARED C. TILTONGETTY IMAGES Kevin Harvick, driver of the Jimmy John's Chevrolet, will start from the No. 18 spot in today's Sprint Cup race. Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG -The IndyCar Series for years has longed for American stars who could captivate the audience and raise the excitement level around the slumping open-wheel series.

With Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal in the series, the potential has been there yet neither driver was able to deliver until last year when Rahal became a legitimate tide contender. Rahal won two races his first victories since his 2008 win on the streets of St. Pete and he spent the final third of the season thick in the championship hunt After a layoff of nearly seven months, IndyCar opens its season today at St Pete and Rahal believes he is among the tide contenders. "We should be in that conversation," Rahal said Friday. "I have no doubt coming into this season that I can win races.

I'd love to help move this series forward. I think there's no doubt that a name, whether it be myself or Marco, would have a great impact on that "There's a lot of good, young Americans in this sport It's exciting times as a whole. There's a lot of guys that can help take this to the next level." IndyCar had a decent 201S in which Rahal, Josef Newgarden and Ryan Hunt-er-Reay combined to win six Associated Press AVONDALE, Ariz. -Kevin Harvick's dominance amazes Carl Edwards. Jimmie Johnson shrugs while making Harvick the favorite on Sunday.

When NASCAR comes to Phoenix International Raceway, all drivers chase Harvick, who has won a record seven Sprint Cup races in the desert. "I think really at this time in the sport for anyone to be that dominant at a track it really must have something special," Edwards said. "Yeah, I think the whole field is chasing those guys and chasing Kevin and that 4 car at this track." There might be some hope for the field heading into today's 312-mile race. Kyle Busch, who will be on the pole, noticed Harvick's Chevrolet "was a little off" on Friday when he qualified 18th. But there was Harvick on Saturday morning with the second-fastest car in practice on the mile oval behind Kurt Busch.

Harvick followed that by posting the fastest speed in the final practice session at midday, with track conditions most resembling those of this afternoon's race. "It's hard to pick a favorite, but I guess if I'm forced to, the No. 4 car is the one that we'll all be paying close attention to," Johnson said. It's true that when Harvick makes his 500th consecutive Cup start, he won't be the defending champion at Phoenix for the first time since November 2013. His four-race win streak was snapped last fall when Dale Earnhardt Jr.

won the rain-shortened race. Harvick still led the most laps and finished of the 16 races. The season also came down to a thrilling finish in which Scott Dixon climbed from third in the standings in the season finale to beat Juan Pablo Montoya for the championship on a tie-breaker. IndyCar goes into 2016 with a deeper lineup than ever. New to the series this year is American Alexander Rossi, an aspiring Formula One driver who signed a one-year contract with Andretti Herta Autosport The entry is the fourth under the Andretti banner and came from a late merger with Bryan Herta's single-car team.

Dale Coyne Racing gave American Conor Daly a full-time ride for the first time in his IndyCar career, and he'll be part of the roolde-of-the-year race. Chip Ganassi Racing hired Max Chilton, a British former Formula One driver who has adapted to IndyCar quickly after just a handful of test sessions. second. "For me personally, this is a fun place to come just for the fact that I started racing here in the mid-'90s," Harvick said. "You still see some of the same fans and people that followed your career up through the ranks." The Bakersfield, Calif, native went from minor-league races at Phoenix to dominating this track after it was repaved in 201L Now Harvick, who has finished fourth, sixth and seventh in the first three races of the season, is looking to lock up a spot in the season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup with a track-record eighth win.

"We grew up on a lot of these flat style-type tracks, short tracks, up and down the West Coast," Harvick said. "For whatever reason, all the flat tracks have just kind of still fit my driving style throughout the years, whether it be here or Loudon. "But obviously this place, we have had a lot more success than some of the others." Harvick will have to weave his way through the field from the 18th spot. EastWdDd 1kook KfliiilFM GOLF CLUB EAST JH $25 $29" H9 1 Monday Friday, Anytime Call Sat Sun, After 12 407-420-5353 311(1 SICI1 lip TODAY! mmffMmimfmwmm Orlando Sentinel MTtl I Rl OfsTJi tVIlHH WHtJ 1 1 KlW I rSI I IiJ ij iflllj 'ft iitj ill media group.