Where Did ‘Synchronized Swimming’ Go?
More than 30 years after its Olympic debut, the sport was rebranded as “artistic swimming”—a controversial move that athletes fear could backfire.
![Two Japanese artistic swimmers wearing pink-and-orange suits compete at the Tokyo Olympics.](https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/Rv_a1a7C-k3CXhY-0ZZbs9aSczk=/490x0:1802x1312/80x80/media/img/mt/2021/08/GettyImages_1332312535_1/original.jpg)
More than 30 years after its Olympic debut, the sport was rebranded as “artistic swimming”—a controversial move that athletes fear could backfire.
Americans once completely dominated the sport—but that hasn’t been the case since last century.
"It just made things so much easier to be the Bramble family."