MIAMI --
Most grown men would take offense to being likened to a mermaid, but Joel Armas said he takes it as a compliment.
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The former competitive swimmer found a new outlet for his talents.
On the surface of the water, he's only a ripple. But underwater, he's the image of power and grace. He can cross the entire length of a pool in the blink of an eye using his strength and a single flipper.
Armas is the country's only competitive male monofin swimmer.
"I think you should do what you love," he said. "I love being an athlete. I've always had my dreams of being a champion. That's all that matters to me."
Russians invented monofin swimming almost 40 years ago. Both feet slip into a specially designed fin and the human form resembles that of a whale.
Over the years, the sport has become competitive, accepted and popular.
Armas trains on his own in a small pool in Miami. He asks the lifeguards to keep his time.
With no coach, the 32-year-old forces himself to push harder.
Armas said he was once part of a team as one of the most promising swimmers in Cuba, but the government would not allow him to leave the country to compete.
So, when he was 19, he left on his own in a raft. By the time he made it onto U.S. soil in 1996, he said he was disenchanted and linked swimming to dreams denied.
He said it wasn't until two years ago when a friend handed him the 15-pound monofin that he felt the need to compete.
Armas holds three national records and has placed ninth in the world. He trains as long as five hours a day.
He said, fortunately, his passion and his job overlap. He is a Broward County firefighter who assists in ocean rescue.
The 6-foot-2-inch man said he has often been told he looks like a merman. His coworkers tease him, but he said they are his greatest supporters.
"Like every athlete you have a dream," he said. "My dream is to be a world champion. I couldn't do it in classical swimming. God gave me another chance in monofin swimming, and I'm pursuing that dream."
NBC 6 sports anchor Joe Rose attempted to demonstrate the monofin Sunday night on NBC 6 Sports Final.
Rose's technique was less than graceful. He said the words "beached whale" came to mind when he dove into the new sport.
