The flow of water with its poetic sound has a somewhat hypnotizing and soothing effect. Rather your are sitting in front of a vivid river or on a sandy beach staring at the ocean, water inspires inherent elegance and rhythm reminiscent of the gracious movement of a ballerina. Synchronized swimmers have the ability to capture that elegance and rhythm as they become one soul with the music and the water. All the water ballerinas manage to achieve a state of perfect unique symbiosis, breathing to the same tempo while executing what complex movements with what appears to be a natural easiness. This sport requires a lot of physical strength and combines the attributes of a great swimmer from a technical point of view, and the innate coordination and elegance of a ballerina. Synchronized swimming was born in North American thanks to one very special and unique Australian water lover.

At the beginning of the 20^th century, Annette Kellerman, a born Australian athlete, dancer and movie star gave life to the art of dancing in the water, an activity we now know as synchronized swimming. When she first moved to the United States, this young confident young woman was arrested for “indecency” on the beach for wearing a bathing that did not cover her knees. She defended herself in court saying that she did not care to provoke anyone but “if she were to swim in the customary garb of her day, she “may as well be swimming in chains” (Source: http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/marie-claire/article/-/5887692/annette-kellerman-australias-forgotten-icon/).  Annette, who suffered from rickets and had to wear heavy braces as a child, saw swimming as a therapeutic activity that also helped her to strength her body. Encouraged by her doctor to swim as an actual treatment, the girl became passionate about the sport and started swimming competitively as a teenager.  During a visit at the local aquarium in Melbourne, dared by her sister, Annette Kellerman dived into the pool with tropical fish and performed what resembled to a ballet while her sister Marcelle, went around with a hat collecting money from the crowd. Little did the girl know that this childish and fearless performance had just granted her with a new job. The people from the aquarium invited her to perform her “mermaid act” on a regular basis as the girl attracted a great amount of attention with her impressive ability to hold her breath underwater. The girl soon became a local celebrity for her performance and as mermaid and her gift to win all long-distance swim races. Thanks to Annette’s talent and passion for the sport, in 1939 was held the first synchronized swimming competition.

Only a couple years later, in 1955, this sport became a real event at the 1955 Pan American Games in Mexico.  “The first time it was in the Olympic games was in 1984 in Los Angeles” (Source: http://library.thinkquest.org/J002862/swimming.htm) where both duets and teams of maximum eight swimmers were introduced into the official competition. Today this sport is under the ruling of the Federation Internationale de Natation Amateur (FINA). At Olympic competitions there are usually two events: one is the duet competition while the other is the team event with a free routine and a technical one both accompanied by music. Swimmers are required to have an incredible endurance considering that points are deduced for touching the bottom of the swimming pool or for a lack of fluidity in the performance.

Annette Kellerman, a real pioneer of this sport showed the entire world the many benefits of water that managed to cure her illness, boost her self esteem and grant her a body figure of a “perfect woman” (Source: http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/marie-claire/article/-/5887692/annette-kellerman-australias-forgotten-icon/). This young mermaid and born water icon is a symbol of feminity combined with strength and endurance.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a special interactive post on synchronized swimming with exclusive pictures and videos!