Maroney, 23, set a world record for marathon ocean swimming when she made the treacherous 108 mile crossing from Cuba to Florida last year.

She already holds the women's record for double crossing the English Channel, and is in Mexico to set a new world mark with a 145-mile ocean swim to Cuba.

She said the last-minute hitch came after news that a U.S. kayaker was missing off the Mexican coast.

"They've declared him lost and now that they've got a swimmer going they're panicking a bit," Maroney said. "We've had to hire a lawyer and a secretary."

Kayaker Arthur Herbert, who left Mexico 16 days ago in a bid to paddle 600 miles to the U.S. city of New Orleans, has not been heard from in five days.