Synchronized swimming is an ancient sport. It is as old as the Olympics itself. As far back as ancient Rome, Julius Caesar is reported to have flooded amphitheaters and dug lakes to model or reenact significant naval battles. During these reenactments, prisoners were often forced to fight each other to death or, better still, drown while fighting. However, there were less violent swimming activities in ancient Rome. The Colosseum used to have spectacles in which women acted as water nymphs and nereids in water-filled amphitheaters. These women often swam in really sophisticated and irregular dimensions. They formed different shapes and characters while swimming. It is, however, essential to note that modern synchronized swimming as it is known today has its origin in the 20th century. During this period, it was simply known as water ballet, and it is recorded to have started as far back as 1891 in Berlin, Germany. Consequently, in 1907, an Australian swimmer known as Annette Kellerman became very famous after performing in a glass tank at the New York Hippodrome. Due to her sophisticated skills and unique swimming styles. Annette Kellerman eventually laid the foundation for the advent of ornamental swimming. Ornamental swimming was a swimming event developed by some Canadian women.

1. The History of Synchronized Swimming
Ted Boesky

2. Introduction
Synchronized swimming is an ancient sport. It is as old as the Olympics itself. As far
back as ancient Rome, Julius Caesar is reported to have flooded amphitheaters and dug
lakes to model or reenact significant naval battles. During these reenactments, prisoners
were often forced to fight each other to death or, better still, drown while fighting.

3. However, there were less violent swimming activities in ancient Rome. The Colosseum
used to have spectacles in which women acted as water nymphs and nereids in water-
filled amphitheaters. These women often swam in really sophisticated and irregular
dimensions. They formed different shapes and characters while swimming.

4. It is, however, essential to note that modern synchronized swimming as it is known
today has its origin in the 20th century. During this period, it was simply known as water
ballet, and it is recorded to have started as far back as 1891 in Berlin, Germany.

5. Consequently, in 1907, an Australian swimmer known as Annette Kellerman became
very famous after performing in a glass tank at the New York Hippodrome. Due to her
sophisticated skills and unique swimming styles. Annette Kellerman eventually laid the
foundation for the advent of ornamental swimming. Ornamental swimming was a
swimming event developed by some Canadian women.

6. Subsequently, a water ballet club was established by Kathrine Curtis at the University of
Chicago. She came up with the idea of a swimming club after trying to experiment with
different diving techniques and stunts. This club performed swimming strokes, floating
techniques, and formations at the Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago.

7. Kathrine Curtis was successfully able to combine music with water acrobatics. During
the 19933-34 Chicago Century of Progress Fair, which her club participated in, the
event’s announcer, Norman Ross, an erstwhile Olympic swimming gold medalist, came
up with the name “synchronized swimming” to describe the event. While the event was
unofficially introduced as synchronized swimming, the Amateur Athletic Union, AAU,
made the term the standard description for the event.

8. However, Kathrine Curtis, in her book, Rhythmic Swimming: A Source Book of
Synchronised Swimming and Water, used the phrase “rhythmic swimming” to describe
the event. Kathrine Curtis played an instrumental role in ensuring that synchronized
swimming was officially recognized as a sport in 1941. Subsequently, in 1979, she was
admitted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame for her role in forming
synchronized swimming as a modern sport.

9. Afterward, the synchronized swimmers from the United States demonstrated the sport
at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Italy, and synchronized swimming officially
became an Olympic Sport. Two synchronized swimming events are observed at the
Olympics. They include the team routines and the duet. The team routines were
included at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.

10. Upon becoming an Olympic sport, the popularity of synchronized swimming grew
significantly. Equally, the diversity of the sport’s discipline and its acceptance of
athleticism have made millions of people around the world more interested in
synchronized swimming.

11. In 2017, the International Swimming Federation (FINA) and the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) officially renamed synchronized swimming as artistic swimming. This
is to ensure that the sport is compatible with other synchronized sports like artistic
gymnastics. The renaming of the sport has been subject to a lot of backlash worldwide.
Notably, a former synchronized swimmer and a veteran coach started a petition signed
by thousands of respondents and sought to revert the sport to its original name.