After women’s boxing was included in London 2012 and women’s ski jumping in Sochi 2014, there are now no sports in the Olympic Games that exclude women. Two events are off-limits to men: rhythmic gymnastics and synchronized swimming. But for the latter, that might be about to change.
At this year’s Federación Internacional de Natación (FINA) World Championships in Kazan, Russia, mixed technical and freestyle duets will be added to the synchronized swimming events. It will be the first time that men have been allowed to compete professionally, after growing calls for their inclusion over the past few years and a popular online petition.
Although amateur competitions around the world have opened the doors to men competing both with and against women, this is the first time that FINA, the sport’s governing body, has shown signs of approval. The move came as part of a parcel of new initiatives announced in November, including mixed-gender synchronized diving and the inclusion of a new discipline, high diving, in which competitors dive from platforms up to 27 meters high.
The quadrennial FINA World Championships open on July 24 and include swimming, water polo and diving as well as synchronized swimming. High diving and mixed synchronized diving will also make their World Championship debuts at the event.
In Kazan, the Ukrainian national team is entered into every synchronized swimming category – including the mixed duets. The lack of opportunities for male synchronized swimmers has inevitably created a limited pool of trained athletes who can participate at the professional level. Both the U.S. and France will be fielding 37-year-olds who had thought their careers long over, but couldn’t resist the chance to claim a long-desired place on the world stage. Ukraine’s own competitor, 26-year-old Anton Timofeyev, quit the sport in 2008 due to lack of opportunities and only resumed specialized training in January.
Russia has won every Olympic synchronized swimming gold medal since 2000 and will be fielding mixed duet teams in Kazan, but some of its best-known female swimmers have reacted negatively to the news. Three-time medal winner Svetlana Romashina told the BBC that she was “categorically against men in our type of sport.”
In contrast, the introduction of the mixed duet was welcomed by Ukrainian national team member and medal-winner Kateryna Sadurska.
“Everything is changing, and now it’s time for synchronized swimming,” she told Kyiv Post. “Men are stronger than us, so that means they can make something new. And of course, it is always interesting to watch the interaction of man and woman.”
Timofeyev will compete in the free event with Kateryna Reznik, and in the technical with Aleksandra Sabada.
Timofeyev told Kyiv Post, “I think mixed duets attract additional interest in synchronized swimming, which will help to popularize the sport.”
Sabada agrees, adding “the mixed duet is a very beautiful and original form, in which it is possible to show all tenderness and passion between the man and the woman.”
While female duets traditionally focus on mirroring a partner’s movements, the mixed duets will also incorporate pas de deux elements, similar to those seen in ballet or figure skating.
The extreme physical demands of synchronized swimming make it essential to start training young, in order to develop the extensive flexibility and breath control required. Sadurska and Sabada both began at eight years old and wake up daily at 7am for training, spending up to eight hours in the pool.
Although men have an advantage in terms of strength, they are less naturally buoyant and flexible than women. However, just as female athletes have striven to overcome physical differences, it’s equally possible for male synchronized swimmers to train their bodies to meet the highest standards of the sport.
With the introduction of professional mixed duets, Timofeyev is committed to pursuing medals at Kazan. “For sportsmen, there is nothing wrong or complex,“ he says. “We need to work and succeed. I see the goal, I see no obstacles, especially when there is support and motivation from the government.”
Sadurska is optimistic about the team’s chances in Kazan, saying that the team aims to win medals in every part of the program. The World Championship synchronized swimming events begin on July 24 with the women’s technical solo preliminaries and close on August 1 with the women’s free combination final.
Sandra MacKenzie can be reached at [email protected]
