Or, rather, its been rebranded toartistic swimming.
Another important piece of this name-swap puzzle?
Artistic swimming has a long, long historythe sport as we know it dates back to the early 1900s.
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Annette Kellerman on a postcard in 1913
Annette Kellerman attempts to swim the English Channel.
She starred in MGM aquamusicals, which were considered water ballets at the time.
In the movies, its always hypersexualized or were just in the back looking pretty.
Annette Kellerman on a postcard in 1913
Its not like that.
And while the new scoring structure draws more focus to the sportstechnical elements, aesthetics are still really important.
Team USA competing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta
Not all swimmers were thrilled about the rebranding.
Annette Kellerman attempts to swim the English Channel.
Naming convention aside, this sport is no joke.
Whether you call them artistic or synchronized swimmersor even water ballet dancersthey deserve all our damn respect.
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Esther Williams on theMillion Dollar Mermaidmovie poster
Team USA competing at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles
Team USA competing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta
