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• Betcha didn't know about the Merlympics in Geneva, Switzerland.
The event, in existence since 2015, is designed to "prove athleticism" among mermaid competitors, KSL-TV reported.
At the May games, Mia Sim, 22, of Provo, Utah, secured her title as the fastest mermaid in the world.
Sim has been mermaiding for 10 years; at the Merlympics, athletes must compete in five categories, including ecology (diving to the bottom and picking up trash); underwater posing for photographs; and rescue (swimming to "save" a submerged dummy) -- all while wearing full mermaid or merman gear.
"It's not a skill that's easily learned," Sim said of mermaiding. "This type of restriction on your body is very difficult for people to understand."
She has now been inducted into Team USA and hopes other Utah mermaids will aspire to such heights. [KSL, 7/7/2024]