TIME editors have nominated Diana Nyad
and Edith Windsor to be the magazine's 2013 Person of the Year.
In October, Nyad, 64, became the first
person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage. The openly
gay Nyad swam for nearly 54 hours and 110 miles to reach the Florida
coast, where she was greeted by dozens of supporters and American and
Gay Pride flags.
Windsor is the 84-year-old widow who
sued the federal government for not recognizing her marriage to
another woman and won. Her Supreme Court case brought an end to the
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and led to federal recognition of the
marriages of gay couples. The case is also being cited in nearly two
dozens cases challenging similar state bans.
Leading in a TIME poll are Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Egyptian Defense Minister Abdel
Fattah el-Sisi and singer Miley Cyrus. The straight yes/no poll will
play a factor in determining who will be TIME's 2013 Person of the
Year. (Vote for Nyad
here; Windsor
here.)
TIME's Person of the Year will be
announced on December 11.