Fastest animals
The fastest land animal is the cheetah, which has a recorded speed of . The peregrine falcon is the fastest bird and the fastest member of the animal kingdom with a diving speed of . The fastest animal in the sea is the black marlin, which has a recorded speed of .
Nothing in the Rules
Iantha and the sea lion are the only competitors in the final race, the other contestants refusing to get in the water with an animal. The sea lion, coaxed by rewards of fish at the end of each leg, proves much faster than even the mermaid. It is winning handily until Mark and a couple girls from Herb's swim team run in with bowls of goldfish. Spiking the pool with these, they completely distract the creature from any thought of finishing the race, with the result that Iantha is once again victorious. Connaught is livid, but, as with entering a mermaid, there is nothing in the rules against putting fish in the pool. Mark lets the referee and the coaches fight it out and attends to Iantha, now extremely inebriated, sitting on the edge of the pool, paddling her flukes in the water, and eating some of the goldfish. She whacks the sea lion across the head when it tries to steal some, and again breaks out into song. Mark convinces her to return to her wheelchair, albeit with difficulty, but in picking her up misjudges her weight; both fall into the pool, and Iantha, thinking he is being playful, nearly drowns him responding in kind.