The last time the United States qualified for the Olympic artistic swimming team event, Megumi Field was only a toddler. As the squad gets ready for its major comeback, Field, 18, is a member of it.
“I’ll be excited for college once the Olympics [are] over. But right now, all I can think about is the Olympics,” Field stated “Stay Tuned.”
“I just can’t wait to be in that moment, ready to show the world what we’ve been working on.”
Field had no need for speed when she was younger. She needed something to drink.
“I’ve always loved the water. I’ve always loved chlorine,” she stated. “The moment I was born, I think I was just in the water.”
Synchronized swimming was the previous term for artistic swimming. According to Kennedy Shriver, the communications manager for USA Artistic Swimming, World Aquatics renamed the competition after the 2016 Olympic Games in order to more accurately reflect the essence of the sport. The rebranding was prompted by its artistic gymnastics resemblance.
These days, it goes beyond simply keeping time.
“I think artistic swimming combines a lot of different sports, like gymnastics, dance, ballet, speed swimming, even diving,” Field stated.
Coach Andrea Fuentes of Team USA referred to it as “the craziest sport a human can do.”
“We don’t [breathe] while we are upside down,” she stated. “We throw our flyer in the air, up to 9 feet, while she does the acrobatics of a gymnast.”
Additionally, swimmers never touch the pool’s bottom; instead, they tread water the entire time. The artistic swimming competition at the Paris Games will be divided into two categories: team and duet. Every event has a number of routines that have been honed over many years.
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Before the swimmers return to the water, the coaching crew completes the choreography on land. The choreography is started in the pool. Teams can showcase their individuality and inventiveness during the free routine. Technical routines, however, can be a little more strict.
“In tech, everyone has to do the same thing,” Field stated. “If you don’t, you can get penalized. … All countries do the same technical elements.”
For the first time, acrobatic routines in the team event will be mandatory in the 2024 Games. 1984 saw the addition of artistic swimming to the Summer Games. It was Team USA that won both the team and duet golds that year, but they haven’t won a double gold since. This year, though, things might be different.
“I want to get the U.S. back on the stage,” Field stated. “I’ve grown up watching us dominate basically all the sports, and … when I think of … gold medals, I think of the U.S.”
