A roadmap to follow for the artistic swimming competition during the Paris Olympics:
Athletes To Watch
—Wang Liuyi and Wang Qianyi, China: The 27-year-old twins dominated at this year’s world championships in Doha, Qatar, and they’ll be among the gold-medal favorites in Paris.
—Bill May, United States: At age 45, the six-time world championship medalist was hoping to finally realize his dream of competing at the Olympics but Saturday was not named to the US team that will be competing in Paris. The USA roster includes: Anita Alvarez, Daniella Ramirez, Megumi Field, Jamie Czarkowski, Jacklyn Luu, Audrey Kwon, Keana Hunter, Ruby Remati, and Calista Liu serving as Olympic alternate.
Storylines To Follow
—Russia Stays Home: After sweeping the gold medals at six straight Olympics, Russia didn’t take part in the last three world championships and won’t be at the Paris Games either because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. For the first time since 1996, a country other than Russia will claim Olympic gold.
—Men Are Welcome: Men have competed for decades in the lower levels of the sport formerly known as synchronized swimming, but this will be the first time they’ve been allowed at the Olympic pool. They can compete only in the team event, not duet, with a limit of two men on the eight-member squads.
—Rising Powers: China appears most likely to fill the Russian void at the top of the medal table after winning seven of 11 events at this year’s worlds in Doha, Qatar, with Japan and Spain also in the mix. The U.S. earned a spot in both events after failing to qualify for the team competition in Tokyo.
Key Dates
The artistic swimming competition is being held over five days at the new Paris Aquatics Centre. It begins Aug. 5 and concludes Aug. 10, with an off day on Aug. 8.
Reigning Champions
—Duet: Svetlana Kolesnichenko and Svetlana Romashina, Russian Olympic Committee.
—Team: Russian Olympic Committee.
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