Susie Maroney staggered onto a remote Cuban beach late on Tuesday following her gruelling 36-hour, 190km (119 mile) haul.

Pauline Maroney says it was one of Susie's toughest swims

Her body was bruised and cut from being banged against her shark cage which was designed and donated by her most famous fan, Cuban President Fidel Castro.

The swimmer's limbs were red and swollen from jelly-fish stings and she had suffered sea sickness during the crossing.

''I'm very happy that it's over...I'm so glad to be out of the water," she said before an ambulance whisked her away for a medical check.

Maroney stepped onto the rainy Marea del Portillo beach at 1840 local time (2240 GMT) after her brother and boyfriend joined her for the last 100 metres.

Her mother Pauline Maroney said it was one of her daughter's toughest swims.

As a mark of his respect, Mr Castro was due to host a private dinner for the swimmer in Havana.

Hurricane

Maroney left Montego Bay, Jamaica, at sunrise on Monday, but quickly ran into difficulties when storms caused by Hurricane Floyd battered her and damaged the shark cage.

The hurricane, dubbed a "monster storm" by US weather officials, churned west through the Bahamas on Monday and Tuesday, whipping up winds of up to 250km/h (155mph).

Maroney later told how she had kept herself going through the most difficult periods by singing songs in her head, including hits by Madonna.

Maroney set a world long-distance swimming record in 1998 after swimming from Mexico to Cuba in 38 and a half hours.