In most sports, a ‘split position’ would result in injury. For synchronised swimmers, though, it’s merely routine
The Venue
Once the likes of Michael Phelps and Rebecca Adlington have emptied their lockers, the Olympic Aquatics Centre will open its doors to swimmers of the synchronised sort. That’s when the underwater speakers will be switched on and the make-up delivered (by the lorry-load). The speakers are positioned to allow swimmers to hear the music while underwater and the make-up is seemingly applied with a shovel to accentuate the artistic element of the sport.
The Event
One of two sports on the Olympic programme to be contested only by women (if you know the other, get yourself a muffin)*, synchronised swimming actually started as a man-thing in the 1800s. Back then it was known as water ballet and largely used as entertainment, with theatres adding huge water tanks to their stages during Music Hall evenings. But by the time FINA — the international governing body of swimming — officially recognised synchronised swimming as the fourth water sport in 1968 (after swimming, water polo and diving), it was mostly female. Its Olympic debut came in 1984, and the sport has been ever present since. In London there are competitions for duets and teams with the latter consisting of eight identically dressed and made-up women. They must perform two different types of routine: one technical, in which they perform a set number of moves in a specified order; and the other a freestyle routine, in which they’re free to perform their own material.
As GB star Jenna Randall explains, to be a synchro athlete “you have to be strong like a weightlifter, have the speed of a swimmer and be very flexible.” Other must-know information? Nose clips are allowed, goggles aren’t and making “deliberate use” of the bottom of the pool is punishable by a two-point deduction.
*rhythmic gymnastics, naturally.
Team GB's Progress
“Synchronised Swimming in the UK has taken significant steps forward since the last Olympics,” says national performance director Biz Price. “We have improved our world rankings in both the duet and team events by eight places.
“At the 2009 World Championships, we reached the finals in all but one event, and it was the first time we had fielded a full team in a number of years. Last year we proved our competitiveness by reaching the final in all events at the World Championships in China.”
Synchronised Swimming at London 2012
Dates August 5-10
Capacity 17,500
How to get there Tube (Jubilee and Central lines), National Rail, DLR, London Overground
