Joel Armas y Hernandez (born September 24, 1973 in Santa Cruz del Norte, Cuba) is the U.S. record holder in finswimming.
His father, an athlete who once trained for the Cuban national basketball, successfully left Cuba on boat in 1979.
He later dropped out of the national team when he was told he would not be allowed to leave the country to compete.
In 1996, Armas worked as a lifeguard and played baseball for Miami-Dade Community College.
In 2002, he appeared on the TV show Sabado Gigante on Univision and won a Ford Focus.