BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: In our "CNN 20" segment, a look back on this day in 1997. Susie Maroney touches sand off the shores of Key West for a new record.</s>ROBERT VITO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She battled high winds, rough seas, and a boiling sun, but none of it could stop Susie Maroney from accomplishing what no one else ever did before.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to America.</s>VITO: She swam 112 miles from Havana, through the treacherous waters of the Florida Straits, to the shores near Key West. It was one of the most impressive accomplishments in the history of marathon swimming.</s>SUSIE MARONEY: As I was swimming I was just making sure I was concentrating on how far it really is, and you know, making sure that I had happy thoughts in my mind, and really just not letting go of that dream, and finishing in America.</s>VITO: She overcame tough seas her fight now out. She had no problem swimming in a 27 by 8 foot case that was towed by a boot, a case to protect her from sharks. Throughout her journey Maroney's crew guided her with information from satellites and infrared images that allowed her course to be constantly altered to avoid bad weather. And what did she think, with her feet swollen from the stings of jelly finish, and her tongue swollen from salt water, when she finally reached her destination?</s>MARONEY: It was the best feeling in the whole world. I am just so glad to actually, you know, touch sand and not be in the water.
CNN 20: Susie Maroney's Record, May 12, 1997