Are you watching artistic swimming? 6 questions about the Olympic sport, answered

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SAINT-DENIS, France — Let’s get this straight: There’s a lot more to artistic swimming (often called synchronized swimming) than just synchronization.

This sport, which blends music and ballet movements, requires tremendous acrobatics and aerobic skills to do flips in the air without touching the bottom of the pool, strike a pose or hold your breath underwater upside down.

It’s more than just breathing, leg and arm work. For all the stamina required, the swimmers make it look easy. Teammates often emerge from the water in unison, with coordinated theatrical facial expressions — a choreography that stays in sync even when the swimmers are underwater.

Chinese athletes are seen in underwater footage as they compete in the team freestyle series in the artistic swimming event during the Paris Olympics at the Saint-Denis Aquatic Centre, north of Paris, on Tuesday.

Medals in artistic swimming will be awarded on Wednesday and Saturday.

If you are new to this sport, there are some things you need to know.

What are the basics of Olympic competitions?

The Paris Olympics feature competitions in two categories: duos and team.

Duo event: For duets involving a pair of swimmers, there is a “technical” routine and a “freestyle” routine. Technical requires teams to perform five listed moves. In freestyle, as the name suggests, there is much more freedom. Although there are no mandatory moves and the restrictions on music and choreography are lifted, the challenge is imagination and creativity.

Team event: In addition to technical and freestyle routines, teams of eight swimmers are also scored in an acrobatics routine, a recent addition to the Olympic program. The routine asks teams to complete seven acrobatics across four categories, including aerial and balance moves.

In each event, the team with the best total score from all routines wins.

What else is new in the competition?

These Olympics introduced a declared difficulty level into the judging system. Teams can play it safe or take risks and go for the challenge. Many competitors say the new difficulty rule makes the competition fairer and removes subjectivity.

Members of the US artistic swimming team perform a rendition of Michael Jackson's hit song "smooth Criminal" He was in the pool for team technical training at the Paris Olympics earlier this week. — Members of the U.S. artistic swimming team performed a rendition of Michael Jackson’s hit “Smooth Criminal” in the pool for a team technical demonstration at the Paris Olympics earlier this week.

On Wednesday, Team USA’s relatively higher difficulty score in their freestyle routine moved them from fourth to second behind China after the swimmers reinterpreted Michael Jackson’s inverted moonwalk by synchronizing it with their kicks. smooth CriminalThe Americans left Spain and Japan behind.

So how do they stay afloat?

Swimmers use the eggbeater method, a way to stay afloat effectively in the water by pedaling their legs in alternating circles.

This technique allows swimmers to remain upright in the pool during lifts, throws (swimmers are thrown into the air) and catches (teammates are caught as they fall back).

Members of Team France compete in the team freestyle heats at the Olympic Aquatics Center in Paris on Tuesday.

To perform all types of underwater movements, artistic swimmers must have a large lung capacity and controlled breathing. Most artistic swimmers can hold their breath for about three minutes.

How do they keep water from getting into their noses? Basically, they’re nose plugs. A small plastic or wire clip wrapped in rubber coating that keeps water from getting into their nostrils during underwater movements.

How do they keep their hair off their faces?

They use a lot of gelatin. The clear material keeps swimmers’ hair looking shiny and styled, and also protects the hair from harmful chlorine.

How do they synchronize with the music underwater?

Two words: Underwater speakers

Where are the men?

Male artistic swimmers have long competed in lower-level competitions, but as regulations have restricted men’s participation in the sport, women’s teams have gained popularity. The first official artistic swimming competitions took place at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games without men.

This year, men were allowed to compete in the Olympic team event for the first time (with a maximum of two men). However, none of the 10 teams competing included men. The duals remain a women-only event.

Although the door is now open to men, American male artistic swimmer Bill May, who was expected to make the roster (and history), did not make the U.S. team.

But this week, he got the honor of striking his wand to celebrate the start of the artistic swimming team’s free event.

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