How do you become a professional mermaid? We asked our Oneonta Merlympic athlete making a splash
How do you become a professional mermaid? We asked Kaelyn Warden from Oneonta.
She is preparing to make a splash in the second annual Merlympics in Germany.
"It's incredible. It's taken me all over the world. I got back about a year ago from the United Arab Emirates. I was working as a mermaid performer over at SeaWorld Abu Dhabi," Warden said.
The Merlympics allows mermen and merwomen to go fin for fin to test their swimming skills above and under the sea.
"It's a bunch of different trials of speed, endurance, mermaid techniques and skills as well as rescue demonstrations and overall synchronized swimming with a team too," Warden said.
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This year marks Warden's first time competing in the Merlympics, which debuted last year in Switzerland.
With over a decade of mermaiding experience, Warden believes she can make enough waves to win gold.
"I've been mermaiding for about 14 years now, but just recently got into competing as part of the Mergames and Merlympics and such," she said.
Warden is one of only six women vying for the international title.
"We are so proud of her and all that she has accomplished and we wish her the best of luck in all of her dreams," said Elizabeth O'Rear, a fitness instructor at The Gym.
In addition to training, Warden works as a scuba diving instructor, inspiring younger generations to pursue their dreams.
"I hope that they can gain the confidence that they can do anything they set their mind to and if they want to be a mermaid today then that's what they can be," O'Rear said.
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As she looks forward to the international competition, Warden hopes to see more swimmers dive deep into the world of mermaiding.
"You can be a performer, you can get into competition, you can focus on diving. There's so many different aspects of mermaiding that there's really something for everybody," she said.