Being different never kept Andy Miyares out of the pool; in fact, it's what got him in the water in the first place.
Andy was born with Down syndrome. When he was very young, his mother Ana noticed he struggled with muscle control. She thought the pool would be a great environment for him to strengthen his body and gain more control. She started Andy off in the water at nine months; he progressed to competitive swimming by the age of 6.
Since then, Andy's swimming career has brought him to Special Olympics and competitions around the world. In recent years, he's moved on to open water swimming—one of the few athletes with Down syndrome to participate. He completed his first 5 km open water training swim in Biscayne Bay in 1 hour 45 minutes.
See this video story about Andy's local Honorary ESPY award.