For the first time in the history of Olympic sports: Men will be allowed to participate in artistic swimming competitions starting at the Paris Olympics 2024. The International Olympic Committee has confirmed that eight girls – and two men – will take part in the team swimming competition.
Until now, artistic swimming has only been participated by women since it was first competed in at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. However, men have been allowed to participate in world championships since 2015. “Our sport is taking giant steps to be more inclusive,” said Giorgio Minisini, an artistic swimmer. An Italian who twice won the world championship in the duet competition (man and woman) and will now be able to participate in the Olympics as well. The American swimmer, Bill May, was also happy with the news and said: “It’s a dream come true and an example for the entire Olympic movement.”
However, there are objections to the move from some of the artistic swimmers who claim that the sport should remain exclusively female. “Because of the aesthetic interest of the male legs, artistic swimming should remain exclusively female,” said the former world champion, Russian Varvara Sobotina.