A swimmer known as “The Merle Merle” has set a Guinness world record with a time of 48km when wearing a swimming fin like a mermaid’s tail.
Merle Liivand has just been honored by Guinness World Records as the farthest swimmer wearing a mermaid tail. (Photo: GWR)
Merle Liivand has been called “The Merle Merle” and the “Eco Mermaid” for her swimming efforts to raise awareness of ocean conservation. Recently, foreign media reported that Ms. Merle completed a 48km swim in Miami’s Biscayne Bay (USA) while wearing a monofin, a swimming fin resembling a mermaid’s tail.
Merle said she picked up about 9kg of trash from Biscayne Bay during her 14 hours and 15 minutes of swimming. In total, in the Guinness World Record-setting performance, Merle and her support team collected a total of 15.75kg of trash.
With this feat, Merle broke her own Guinness World Record for the longest swim while wearing a monofin. Previously, in 2022, Merle set a Guinness world record when swimming 42km while carrying a mermaid tail.
Video: arcamax
Merle was born in Tallinn (Estonia) but moved to Florida more than 10 years ago. This veteran swimmer has spent a lot of time teaching swimming skills and raising awareness about the “toll” our oceans are taking.
What’s unique is that Merle regularly swims with a silicone mermaid tail without using her hands to increase her endurance and draw attention to ocean conservation efforts.
