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174-561: Synchronized swimming has been part of the Summer Olympics program since 1984, featuring both women's duet and team events. In 2017, under the instruction of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), FINA renamed the sport from "synchronized swimming" to "artistic swimming" —a decision that has faced controversy. The new official name has yet to gain general acceptance beyond the core of the sport. At

348-648: A leap year , and were instead hosted on a non-leap year . Unlike previous Olympics, these Games took place without spectators due to concerns over COVID-19 and a state of emergency imposed in the host city. Nevertheless, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games featured many memorable moments and feats of technical excellence. One star of the Games, U.S. gymnast Simone Biles , gracefully bowed out to focus on her mental health, but later returned to claim an individual bronze medal. Norway's Karsten Warholm smashed his own world record in

522-399: A "capturable" image for use in the fleet. Three weeks after Williams signed her contract, George Sidney directed her first screen test. According to Williams's autobiography, the studio used this test to get Lana Turner back in line with the terms of her contract and as punishment for Turner's having eloped with Artie Shaw . Williams screen tested with the leading man, Clark Gable , for

696-408: A 115 ft dive off a tower during a climactic musical number for the film Million Dollar Mermaid and was in a body cast for seven months. She subsequently recovered, although she continued to suffer headaches as a result of the accident. Her many hours spent submerged in a studio tank resulted in ruptured eardrums numerous times. She also nearly drowned after not being able to find the trapdoor in

870-469: A 51–50 victory. Ultimately the U.S. team refused to accept their silver medals. There was no such tragedy at the 1976 Montreal Games , but bad planning and fraud led to the cost of these Games far exceeding the budget. Costing $ 1.5 billion (equivalent to $ 7.58 billion in 2023), the 1976 Summer Games were the most expensive in Olympic history (until the 2014 Winter Olympics ) and it seemed, for

1044-627: A D in her algebra course, preventing her from getting a scholarship to the University of Southern California . She enrolled in Los Angeles City College to retake the course. In 1939, Williams expressed interest in pursuing a degree in physical education in order to teach it one day. To earn money for tuition, Williams worked as a stock girl at the I. Magnin department store, where she also modeled clothing for customers and appeared in newspaper advertisements. While Williams

1218-443: A Romance was the 8th highest-grossing film of 1945. Williams had to help Johnson swim, and she placed her hand under his back to keep him afloat. The studio's publicity department tried to put the two together in public as much as possible in the hopes of encouraging a romance, even though Williams was involved with Gage at the time. When asked why they didn't date, Johnson replied, "because I'm afraid she can't get her webbed feet into

1392-507: A Summer Olympics, and equaled the inaugural record set by Eric Heiden at the 1980 Winter Olympics . By then the process of choosing a location for the Games had become a commercial concern; there were widespread allegations of corruption potentially affecting the IOC's decision process. At the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics , the highlight was 200 meters runner Michael Johnson annihilating

1566-469: A bronze medal, became the most decorated weightlifter of all time with four Olympic medals, three gold and one bronze. Although unfounded reports of potential terrorism drove crowds away from the preliminary competitions at the first weekend of the Olympics (14–15 August 2004), attendance picked up as the Games progressed. A third of the tickets failed to sell, but ticket sales still topped figures from

1740-695: A collegiate program), and The University of the Incarnate Word. In Canada, as of 2010, synchronized swimming has an age-based structure system with age groups 10 & under, 12 & under, and 13–15 for the provincial levels. There is also a skill level which is 13–15 and juniors (16–18) known as national stream, as well as competition at the Masters and University levels. The 13–15 age group and 16–18 age group are national stream athletes that align with international age groups – 15 and Under and Junior (16–18) and Senior (18+) level athletes. Wildrose age group

1914-625: A concussion at some point," said Myriam Glez , a former French synchronized swimmer and coach. "It might be minor, might be more serious, but at some point or another, they will get hit." Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games , also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad , is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens , Greece , and

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2088-765: A doctor's supervision, and it had changed his life. Grant's therapist, Mortimer Hartman, described LSD as "a psychic energizer which empties the subconscious and intensifies emotion and memory a hundred times". Grant said that, with the help of LSD, he had "found that [he] had a tough inner core of strength", and that when he was young, he "was very dependent upon older men and women. Now, people [came] to [him] for help." Williams stated that she wanted to be one of those people. As she said in Million Dollar Mermaid , "At that point, I really didn't know who I was. Was I that glamorous femme fatale? ... Was I just another broken-down divorcée whose husband left her with all

2262-646: A gold lamé swimsuit. The scenes would always end with the men giving in and kissing her after that stunt. Her hospital tours continued into the 1950s. A (forged) signed, waterproof portrait of Williams was circulated among men in the United States Navy for a "capture the Esther" competition . This competition continues to this day in the Royal Australian Navy, which holds in its archives an "original" forged signed portrait while maintaining

2436-553: A great success. The Games had the largest international participation of any sporting event to that date. Panathinaiko Stadium , the first big stadium in the modern world, overflowed with the largest crowd ever to watch a sporting event. The highlight for the Greeks was the Marathon victory by their compatriot Spiridon Louis , a water carrier. He won in 2 hours, 58 minutes and 50 seconds, setting off wild celebrations at

2610-492: A high score. Depending on the competition level, swimmers will perform a "technical" routine with predetermined elements that must be performed in a specific order. The technical routine acts as a replacement for the figure event. In addition to the technical routine, the swimmers will perform a longer "free" routine, which has no requirements and is a chance for the swimmers to get creative and innovative with their choreography. The type of routine and competition level determines

2784-611: A historic backflip off the high bar . In the final of the men's basketball , the United States lost to the Soviet Union in what is widely considered as the most controversial game in international basketball history. In a close-fought match, the U.S. team appeared to have won by a score of 50–49. However, the final three seconds of the game were replayed three times by judges until the Soviet team came out on top and claimed

2958-422: A less publicised and less competitive affair, which was dominated by the host country. According to British journalist Andrew Jennings , a KGB colonel stated that the agency's officers had posed as anti-doping authorities from the IOC to undermine doping tests and that Soviet athletes were "rescued with [these] tremendous efforts". On the topic of the 1980 Summer Olympics , a 1989 Australian study said "There

3132-411: A line of retro women's swimwear . Williams said, "Women worldwide are fighting a thing called gravity ... I say to women when I talk to them, 'You girls of 18 have until about 25, 30 at the most, and then you have to report to me. My suits are quality fabric. ' " She went on: "I put you in a suit that contains you and you will swim in. I don't want you to be in two Dixie cups and a fish line." She

3306-481: A major role in the promotion of swimming, making it attractive to the public, contributing to the growth of the sport as a public recreation for health, exercise, water safety – and just plain fun." Her stepson Lorenzo Lamas tweeted she was "The best swim teacher and soul mom." Actress Annabeth Gish tweeted a tribute, writing that Esther Williams was an "elegant, gracious movie star, legend and neighbor". Film historian Leonard Maltin called her "a major, major star,

3480-532: A man who enrolls in a women's college to win back his swimming instructor fiancée, played by Williams. This was her first Technicolor musical. The studio changed the title of the film to showcase Williams. Almost all of the film's posters featured Williams in a bathing suit, though the swimming sequences make up a small portion of the film. Her date to the premiere at the Astor Theater in New York City

3654-682: A marriage and a ring. I had come to realize all too quickly that Leonard Kovner was not a man I could ever really love." They divorced on September 12, 1944. She married singer/actor Ben Gage on November 25, 1945; they had three children, Benjamin Stanton (born August 6, 1949), Kimball Austin (October 30, 1950 – May 6, 2008) and Susan Tenney (born October 1, 1953). In her autobiography, she portrayed Gage as an alcoholic parasite who squandered $ 10 million of her earnings. Gage and Williams separated in 1952, and divorced in April 1959. During

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3828-414: A minimum of 4 competitors and a maximum of 10 (for Free Combination and Highlight). If a swimmer touches the bottom, they will be given a penalty; however, if they use the bottom (by pushing off of it), they will be disqualified. When performing routines in competition and practice, competitors wear a rubber noseclip to keep water from entering their nose when submerged. Some swimmers wear earplugs to keep

4002-821: A national AAU champion swimmer, popularized synchronised swimming during WWII and after, through (often elaborately staged) scenes in Hollywood films such as Bathing Beauty (1944), Million Dollar Mermaid (1952), and Jupiter's Darling (1955). In the 1970s and 1980s, Ft. Lauderdale swimming champion Charkie Phillips revived water ballet on television with The Krofftettes in The Brady Bunch Hour (1976–1977), NBC's The Big Show (1980), and then on screen with Miss Piggy in The Great Muppet Caper (1981). Margaret Swan Forbes published Coaching Synchronized Swimming Effectively in 1984; it

4176-792: A nest egg and a tax deferral . She was, however, still able to collect on the $ 50,000 signing bonus from when she first signed her contract. In 1956, she moved to Universal International and appeared in a non-musical dramatic film, The Unguarded Moment (1956). After that, her film career slowly wound down. She later admitted that husband Fernando Lamas preferred her not to continue in films. She would, however, make occasional appearances on television, including mystery guest appearances for What's My Line? , The Donna Reed Show , The Ed Sullivan Show , and two aqua-specials, The Esther Williams Aqua Spectacle held in London at The Empire Pool Wembley in 1956 and Esther Williams at Cypress Gardens which

4350-523: A pair of evening sandals." Williams tried a more serious role in The Hoodlum Saint (1946), with William Powell and Angela Lansbury . Audiences expected Powell's Nick Charles persona and rejected the idea of a romance between Williams and Powell onscreen due to their age difference. She also appeared in Easy to Wed , a remake of 1936's Libeled Lady , with Johnson and Lucille Ball . It

4524-414: A piece of choreography in which the swimmer is upright, often with one or both arms in the air. Another variation is a body boost, which is executed through an eggbeater buildup and a strong whip kick, propelling the swimmer out of the water vertically. A body boost can raise a swimmer out of the water to hip level A lift or highlight is when members of the team propel another teammate relatively high out of

4698-485: A protest against a recent tour of apartheid -run South Africa by the New Zealand national rugby union team . Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci made history when she won the women's individual all-around gold medal with two of four possible perfect scores. She won two other individual events, with two perfect scores in the balance beam and all perfect scores in the uneven bars. Lasse Virén repeated his double gold in

4872-536: A record for gold medals at a single Games with eight, and tied the record of most gold medals by a single competitor previously held by both Eric Heiden and Vitaly Scherbo. Another notable star of the Games was Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt , who became the first male athlete ever to set world records in the finals of both the 100 and 200 metres in the same Games. Equestrian events were held in Hong Kong. London held

5046-511: A show from the studio. It never occurred. The building remained empty until 1959/1960, when the “Steve Allen Show” was brought to the studios and televised live on Sunday evenings. It was at Aquacade that Williams first attracted attention from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer scouts. MGM's head, Louis B. Mayer , had been looking for a female sports star for the studio to compete with Fox 's figure skating star, Sonja Henie . Williams signed her contract with MGM in 1941. In her contract were two clauses:

5220-456: A stand for civil rights by raising their black-gloved fists and wearing black socks in lieu of shoes. The two athletes were subsequently expelled from the Games by the IOC. Věra Čáslavská , in protest against the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia , and the controversial decision by the judges on the balance beam and floor , turned her head down and away from the Soviet flag while

5394-715: A time, that the Olympics might no longer be a viable financial proposition. In retrospect, it is believed that contractors (suspected of being members of the Montreal Mafia) skimmed large sums of money from all levels of contracts while also profiting from the substitution of cheaper building materials of lesser quality, which may have contributed to the delays, poor construction, and excessive costs. In 1988, one such contractor, Giuseppe Zappia "was cleared of fraud charges that resulted from his work on Olympic facilities after two key witnesses died before testifying at his trial". The 1976 Games were boycotted by many African nations as

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5568-597: A tremendous box office attraction." For her contribution to the motion-picture industry, Williams has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street. She left her hand and footprints in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theatre on August 1, 1944. Williams was mentioned in the "Court Charades" sketch in the 1970 Monty Python's Flying Circus episode "The Spanish Inquisition" where Eric Idle mentions her to which Graham Chapman responds "How can you find

5742-589: A zero. The figure competition prefaces the routine events. However, figures are only performed when a swimmer is under the age of 15/16 and has not reached the junior age group. In the United States, competitors are divided into groups by age. The eight age groups are: 12 and under, 13–15, 16–17, 18–19, Junior (elite 15–18), Senior (elite 15+), Collegiate, and Master. In addition to these groups, younger swimmers may be divided by ability into 3 levels: Novice, Intermediate, and age group. Certain competitions require

5916-410: Is for competitors before they reach 13–15 national stream. Wildrose ranges from Tier 8 and under 16 and over provincial/wildrose. These are also competitive levels. Recreational levels, called "stars", also exist. Synchro Canada requires that a competitor must pass Star 3 before entering Tier 1. To get into a Tier a swimmer must take a test for that Tier. In these tests, the swimmer must be able to perform

6090-645: Is hardly a medal winner at the Moscow Games, certainly not a gold medal winner, who is not on one sort of drug or another: usually several kinds. The Moscow Games might as well have been called the Chemists' Games." Documents obtained in 2016 revealed the Soviet Union's plans for a statewide doping system in track and field in preparation for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Dated prior to

6264-429: Is no base and the pushers push the flyer directly. There are hundreds of different regular positions that can be used to create seemingly infinite combinations. These are a few basic and commonly used ones: The International Olympic Committee has further described the technical positions. Routines are composed of "figures" (leg movements), arm sections and highlights. Swimmers are synchronised both to each other and to

6438-401: Is used most often to support the body while a swimmer is performing upside down. The " eggbeater kick" is another important skill of synchronised swimming. It is a form of treading water that allows for stability and height above the water while leaving the hands free to perform arm motions. An average eggbeater height is usually around collarbone level. Eggbeater is used in all "arm" sections,

6612-411: The 1912 Games , and hosting the equestrian events at the 1956 Summer Olympics (which they are credited as jointly hosting with Melbourne , Australia). Amsterdam , Netherlands, has also hosted events at two Summer Olympic Games, having been sole host of the 1928 Games and previously hosting two of the sailing races at the 1920 Summer Olympics . At the 2008 Summer Olympics , Hong Kong provided

6786-687: The 1996 Games were held in Atlanta , Georgia . The 2028 Games in Los Angeles will mark the fifth occasion on which the Summer Games have been hosted by the U.S. In 2012 , London hosted its third Summer Olympic Games and became the first city ever to have hosted the Summer Olympic Games three times, which then followed by Paris in 2024 . The cities of Los Angeles, Tokyo and Athens (excluding 1906 ) have each hosted two Summer Olympic Games. In 2028, Los Angeles will in turn become

6960-477: The 2012 Summer Olympics , becoming the first city to host the Olympic Games three times. In his closing address, Jacques Rogge described the Games as "Happy and glorious". The host nation won 29 gold medals, the best haul for Great Britain since the 1908 Games in London. The United States returned to the top of the medal table after China dominated in 2008. The IOC had removed baseball and softball from

7134-493: The 2022 World Junior Artistic Swimming Championships . This followed the addition of mixed gender events featuring one male and one female swimmer at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships . Later in the year, in December, the International Olympic Committee announced men were eligible to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games only in a mixed gender team event, with a cap on male participation at 25% of team event members, following

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7308-725: The Henrietta Award at the 1952 Golden Globes , for World Film Favorite – Female. Easy to Love (1953), also with Van Johnson, was filmed on location in Cypress Gardens , where a swimming pool in the shape of the state of Florida had been built specifically for the film. Williams was pregnant during shooting, but still performed all her own waterskiing stunts. In Dangerous When Wet (also 1953), Williams worked with three important male co-stars – Tom and Jerry and her future husband Fernando Lamas . During casting, Lamas told Williams he did not want to star in

7482-498: The Olympics . However, at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships , FINA introduced a new mixed duet discipline. Both May and Beaufils returned from decade-long retirements to represent their countries. Among their competitors were Russian Aleksandr Maltsev and Italian Giorgio Minisini , both over 15 years younger than May and Beaufils. Pairs from ten countries competed in the inaugural events. The 2016 European Aquatics Championships

7656-625: The Russo–Japanese War and the difficulty of getting to St. Louis may have contributed to the fact that very few top-ranked athletes from outside the US and Canada took part in the 1904 Games , the first Games held outside Europe. The " Second International Olympic Games in Athens ", as they were called at the time, were held in 1906. The IOC does not currently recognise these games as being official Olympic Games, although many historians do and credit

7830-970: The United States ( 1904 , 1932 , 1984 , and 1996 ), three times in Great Britain ( 1908 , 1948 , and 2012 ) and in France ( 1900 , 1924 , and 2024 ), twice each in Greece ( 1896 and 2004 ), Germany ( 1936 and 1972 ), Australia ( 1956 and 2000 ), and Japan ( 1964 and 2020 ), and once each in Sweden ( 1912 ), Belgium ( 1920 ), the Netherlands ( 1928 ), Finland ( 1952 ), Italy ( 1960 ), Mexico ( 1968 ), Canada ( 1976 ), Russia ( 1980 ), South Korea ( 1988 ), Spain ( 1992 ), China ( 2008 ), and Brazil ( 2016 ). London and Paris have hosted three times, Los Angeles , Athens, and Tokyo have each hosted twice; Los Angeles will host

8004-687: The WAVES program received thin, cotton, shapeless swimsuits as part of their uniforms. Williams modeled a Cole swimsuit for the Secretary of the Navy and explained that the new swimsuits helped support women's figures. The United States Navy ordered 50,000 suits immediately. Filming Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949) was, according to Williams in her autobiography, an experience of "pure misery." A period musical starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra ,

8178-597: The World Aquatics Championships since the beginning. From 1973 through 2001, the World Aquatics Championships featured solo, duet and team competitions. In 2003, a free routine combination, comprising elements of solo, duet and team, was added. In 2005, it was renamed free combination. In 2007, solo, duet and team events were split between technical and free routines. In 2015, the mixed duet (technical and free) were added to

8352-768: The national anthem was played during the medal ceremony. She returned home as a heroine of the Czechoslovak people but was made an outcast by the Soviet-dominated government. Politics again intervened at the 1972 Games in Munich, but this time with lethal consequences . A Palestinian terrorist group named Black September invaded the Olympic village and broke into the apartment of the Israeli delegation . They killed two Israelis and held nine others as hostages, demanding that Israel release numerous prisoners. When

8526-469: The steeplechase for the first time. The fencing programme was expanded to include all six events for both men and women; previously, women had not been able to compete in team foil or sabre events, although women's team épée and men's team foil were dropped for these Games. Marathon swimming events were added, over the distance of 10 km (6.2 mi). Also, the doubles events in table tennis were replaced by team events. American swimmer Michael Phelps set

8700-480: The 10 from Greece. Ancient Greece was the birthplace of the Olympic Games, consequently Athens was perceived to be an appropriate choice to stage the inaugural modern Games. It was unanimously chosen as the host city during a congress organised by Pierre de Coubertin in Paris, on 23 June 1894. The IOC was also established during this congress. Despite many obstacles and setbacks, the 1896 Olympics were regarded as

8874-484: The 10,000- and 5,000-meter races, he also entered the marathon, despite having never previously raced at that distance. Pacing himself by chatting with the other race leaders, Zátopek led from about halfway, slowly dropping the remaining contenders to win by two and a half minutes, and completed a trio of wins. The 1956 Melbourne Games , the first in the Southern Hemisphere , were largely successful, with

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9048-487: The 100 meter freestyle, with a record-breaking time of 1 minute 9.0 seconds. By age 16, Williams had won three US national championships in breaststroke and freestyle swimming. Williams graduated from Washington High School (now known as Washington Preparatory High School) in Los Angeles in 1939, where she served as class vice president, and later president. However, Williams never trained in swimming while there. During her senior year of high school, Williams received

9222-399: The 12 & under and 13-15 age groups, figure scores are combined with routines to determine the final rankings. The 16-17 and 18-19 age groups combine the scores of the technical and free routines to determine the final rankings. USA Synchro's annual intercollegiate championships have been dominated by The Ohio State University, Stanford University, Lindenwood University (which no longer has

9396-430: The 1906 games with preventing the demise of the Olympics. The 1906 Athens games were the first of an alternating series of games to be held in Athens in even non-Olympic years, but the series failed to materialise. The games were more successful than the 1900 and 1904 games, with over 850 athletes competing, and contributed positively to the success of future games. The 1908 London Games saw numbers rise again, as well as

9570-757: The 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Esther Jane Williams was born on August 8, 1921, in Inglewood, California , the fifth and youngest child of Louis Stanton Williams (January 19, 1886  – June 10, 1968) and Bula Myrtle (née Gilpin; October 8, 1885 – December 29, 1971). The two lived on neighboring farms in Kansas and carried on a nine-year courtship until June 1, 1908, when they eloped and set off for California. However, they ran out of money in Salt Lake City, Utah , and settled there. Esther's brother, Stanton (September 4, 1912 – March 3, 1929)

9744-538: The 20 highest-grossing films of the year. In 1952, Williams appeared in her only biographical role, as Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman in Million Dollar Mermaid , which went on to become her nickname while she was at MGM. Williams left MGM in 1956 and appeared in a handful of unsuccessful feature films, followed by several extremely popular water-themed network television specials, including one from Cypress Gardens, Florida . Williams

9918-516: The 2012 programme. The London Games were successful on a commercial level because they were the first in history to completely sell out every ticket, with as many as 1 million applications for 40,000 tickets for both the Opening Ceremony and the 100m Men's Sprint Final. Such was the demand for tickets to all levels of each event that there was controversy over seats being set aside for sponsors and National Delegations which went unused in

10092-530: The 2016 Summer Olympics. In 1984, the Soviet Union and 13 Soviet allies retaliated by boycotting the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Romania and Yugoslavia , notably are the only two countries from the Eastern Bloc that did attend the 1984 Olympics. These games were perhaps the first games of a new era to make a profit. Although a boycott led by the Soviet Union depleted the field in certain sports, 140 National Olympic Committees took part, which

10266-412: The 2022 FINA Artistic Swimming World Series (March to May 2022). Men's solo events are scheduled to debut at the senior World Championships level at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships with solo technical and solo free routines. Common injuries that may occur in synchronized swimming are tendon injuries, as the sport tends to cause muscle imbalances. Common joint injuries include the rotator cuff and

10440-466: The 400m hurdles. The 2024 Summer Olympics were held in Paris, France, making it the second city after London to host the Summer Olympics three times (the other times being 1900 and 1924 , marking a centenary since the latter). This is the first of any Olympic Games after the pandemic to allow spectators to attend. In a first, the opening ceremonies were staged outside the main stadium with

10614-466: The 5,000 and 10,000 meters, making him the first athlete to ever win the distance double twice. Following the Soviet Union's 1979 invasion of Afghanistan , 66 nations, including the United States, Canada, West Germany, and Japan, boycotted the 1980 Games held in Moscow. Eighty nations were represented at the Moscow Games – the smallest number since 1956. The boycott contributed to the 1980 Games being

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10788-827: The AAU to make synchronised swimming an officially recognised sport in December 1941, but she herself transferred overseas in 1943. She served as the Recreation Director of the Red Cross under Generals Patton and Eisenhower, during which time she produced the first international aquacade in Caserta, Italy. She was the Director of Travel in post-war Europe until 1962. In 1959 the Helms Hall of Fame officially recognised Curtis (along with Annette Kellerman) – ascribing to her

10962-533: The European Junior Championships and the 2022 European Aquatics Championships . The International Olympic Committee allowed for the participation of up to two men per team of eight in a mixed gender team event at the 2024 Olympic Games , competition of men in duet, solo, and men-only team events was not permitted. The mixed team format for the 2024 Olympic Games was adapted from the mixed team format, up to two men allowed per team, used at

11136-399: The Games for the third time in 2028 . Only five countries have participated in every Summer Olympic Games: Australia, France, Great Britain, Greece, and Switzerland. Australia, France, and Great Britain have won at least a medal at every edition of the Games, with Great Britain as the only one that never failed to win at least a gold medal. The United States leads the all-time medal count for

11310-405: The Games in 1964 ; it is also the largest city ever to have hosted, having grown considerably since 1964 . The other countries to have hosted the Summer Olympics are Belgium , Brazil , Canada , China , Finland , Italy , Mexico , Netherlands , South Korea , Soviet Union , Spain , and Sweden , with each of these countries having hosted the Summer Games on one occasion. Asia has hosted

11484-553: The Games started in 1896, all five inhabited continents were represented with athletes competing in the same stadium. The scheduled 1916 Summer Olympics were to be held in Berlin , cancelled following the onset of World War I . The 1920 Antwerp Games in war-ravaged Belgium were a subdued affair, but again drew a record number of competitors. This record only stood until 1924, when the Paris Games involved 3,000 competitors,

11658-458: The German government as a golden opportunity to promote their ideology. The ruling Nazi Party commissioned film-maker Leni Riefenstahl to film the games. The result, Olympia , was widely considered to be a masterpiece, despite the infusion of Adolf Hitler 's theories of Aryan racial superiority. Individually, African-American sprinter and long jumper Jesse Owens won four gold medals, while

11832-462: The Helsinki officials welcomed Katherine Curtis and lit a torch in her honor. Curtis died in 1980, but synchronised swimming did not become an official Olympic sport until the 1984 Summer Olympic Games . It was also not until 1968 that synchronised swimming became officially recognized by FINA as the fourth water sport next to swimming , platform diving and water polo . From 1984 through 1992,

12006-486: The Israeli government refused the terrorists' demands, the situation developed into a tense stand-off while negotiations continued. Eventually, the captors, still holding their hostages, were offered safe passage and taken to an airport, where they were ambushed by German security forces. In the ensuing firefight, 15 people were killed, including the nine captive Israeli athletes and five of the terrorists. After much debate,

12180-433: The Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in Athens , Greece, from 6 to 15 April 1896. It was the first Olympic Games held in the modern era . About 100,000 people attended for the opening of the games. The athletes came from 14 nations, with most coming from Greece. Although Greece had the most athletes, the U.S. finished with the most champions. 11 Americans placed first in their events vs.

12354-610: The Seoul and Barcelona Olympics ( 1988 and 1992 ). IOC President Jacques Rogge characterised Greece's organisation as outstanding and its security precautions as flawless. All 202 NOCs participated at the Athens Games with over 11,000 participants. The 2008 Summer Olympics was held in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Several new events were held, including the new discipline of BMX for both men and women. Women competed in

12528-441: The Summer Olympic Games featured solo and duet competitions, but they were both dropped in 1996 in favor of team competition. At the 2000 Olympic Games, however, the duet competition was restored and is now featured alongside the team competition. At the 2024 Olympic Games, men were included in competition for the first time. Additionally, these games included a team acrobatic routine round. Synchronized swimming has been part of

12702-566: The Summer Olympics , and has topped the medal table on 19 separate occasions—followed by the USSR (seven times, including the 1992 'Unified Team'), and France, Great Britain, Germany and China (once each). The United States hosted the Summer Olympic Games four times: the 1904 Games were held in St. Louis , Missouri ; the 1932 and 1984 Games were both held in Los Angeles , California , and

12876-707: The Summer Olympics four times: in Tokyo ( 1964 and 2020 ), Seoul ( 1988 ), and Beijing ( 2008 ). The 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil, were the first Summer Olympics to be held in South America and the first that was held completely during the local " winter " season. The only two countries in the Southern Hemisphere to have hosted the Summer Olympics have been Australia ( 1956 , 2000 , and upcoming 2032 ) and Brazil ( 2016 ), with Africa having yet to host any Summer Olympics. Stockholm , Sweden, has hosted events at two Summer Olympics, having been sole host of

13050-622: The Swedish book Esther Williams — Skenbiografin ( Esther Williams: The Fake Biography ) written by Jane Magnusson, in which the author shares with readers her own fascination for art swimming as a genre and, here, in particular, Williams as—to the author—both a bewildering and mesmerizing front figure and icon in this field. Williams was a registered Republican . Williams married four times. She met her first husband, Leonard Kovner, while attending Los Angeles City College . She later wrote in her autobiography The Million Dollar Mermaid that "he

13224-538: The U.S., men were allowed to participate with women until 1941, when synchronised swimming became part of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). The AAU required men and women to compete separately, which resulted in a decline of male participants. In the 1940s and 1950s, Bert Hubbard and Donn Squire were among the top US male competitors. In 1978, the U.S. changed their rules to allow men to once again compete with women. Rules in other countries varied; in

13398-512: The UK, men were prohibited from competing until 2014, while in France, Benoît Beaufils was allowed to compete at national events in the 1990s. American Bill May was a top competitor in the late-1990s and early-2000s. He medalled in several international events, including the 1998 Goodwill Games . However, male competitors were barred from top competitions, including the World Aquatics Championships and

13572-572: The University of Ottawa, and the University of British Columbia. Some international, national and regional competitions allow men to compete, and the Fédération internationale de natation (FINA) introduced a new mixed duet competition at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships . In the late 19th century, synchronised swimming was a male-only event. However, in the 20th century it became a women's sport, with men banned from many competitions. In

13746-533: The Women's Artistic Gymnastics when the vaulting horse was set to the wrong height during the All-Around Competition. In 2004 , the Olympic Games returned to their birthplace in Athens, Greece. At least $ 7.2 billion was spent on the 2004 Games, including $ 1.5 billion on security. Michael Phelps won his first Olympic medals, tallying six gold and two bronze medals. Pyrros Dimas , winning

13920-473: The advent of the state-sponsored "full-time amateur athlete". The USSR entered teams of athletes who were all nominally students, soldiers, or working in a profession, but many of whom were in reality paid by the state to train on a full-time basis, hence violating amateur rules. Finland made a legend of an amiable Czechoslovak Army lieutenant named Emil Zátopek , who was intent on improving on his single gold and silver medals from 1948. Having first won both

14094-905: The air. Broadway impresario Billy Rose even tried to steal Berkeley from Warners to stage his aquacade." On May 27, 1939, the first U.S. synchronised swimming competition took place at Wright Junior College between Wright and the Chicago Teachers' College. In 1924, the first competition in North America was in Montreal, with Peg Seller as the first champion. Other important pioneers of the sport are Beulah Gundling , Käthe Jacobi, Marion Kane Elston, Dawn Bean, Billie MacKellar, Teresa Anderson , Gail Johnson , Gail Emery , Charlotte Davis, Mary Derosier, Norma Olsen, and Clark Leach. Charlotte Davis coached Tracie Ruiz and Candy Costie , who won

14268-570: The athlete(s) to pass a certain Grade Level. Grades as of now range from Level one to Level six, and will soon go to Level ten. Seasons range in length, and some swimmers participate year-round in competitions. There are many levels of competition, including but not limited to: State, Regional, Zone, National, Junior Olympic, and US Junior and Senior Opens. Each swimmer may compete in the following routine events: solo, duet, combo (consisting of ten swimmers), and team (consisting of eight swimmers). In

14442-581: The athletes parading down boats along the Seine River . Following this, the open water swimming competitions also occurred in the River. The 2028 Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles, California, United States, making it the third city to host the Games three times (the other times being 1932 and 1984 ), with the U.S. hosting the Summer Olympics for the fifth time. Esther Williams Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013)

14616-513: The attention of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer scouts at the Aquacade. After appearing in several small roles, and alongside Mickey Rooney in an Andy Hardy film and future five-time co-star Van Johnson in A Guy Named Joe , Williams made a series of films in the 1940s and early 1950s known as "aquamusicals", which featured elaborate performances with synchronised swimming and diving. Every year from 1945 to 1949, Williams had at least one film among

14790-558: The bills and three kids?" Shortly after reading the article, she contacted Grant. He called his doctor and made an appointment for her. Williams said LSD seemed like instant psychoanalysis . Esther Williams died in her sleep on June 6, 2013, from natural causes , in her Los Angeles home. She was 91. She was cremated, and her ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean. On her death, CNN quoted her International Swimming Hall of Fame biography, saying, "Her movie career played

14964-545: The ceiling of a tank. The walls and ceiling were painted black and the trapdoor blended in. Williams was pulled out only because a member of the crew realized the door was not opening. After 15 years of appearing in films, Williams was threatened with contract suspension from MGM after refusing the lead role in The Opposite Sex (eventually released in 1956), a musical remake of 1939's The Women . The role of Mary would have been rewritten to be an aquacade star (and

15138-488: The competition program. In 2019, the highlight routine was added into the competition program and it was renamed into acrobatic routine in 2023. Also in 2023, the men's solo (technical and free routines) were added to the competition program. Artistic swimming is part of the program of the European Aquatics Championships from 1974. A stand alone European Aquatics Artistic Swimming Championships

15312-547: The country's decision to boycott the Games, the document detailed the existing steroids operations of the programme, along with suggestions for further enhancements. The communication, directed to the Soviet Union's head of track and field, was prepared by Dr. Sergei Portugalov of the Institute for Physical Culture. Portugalov was also one of the main figures involved in the implementation of the Russian doping programme prior to

15486-459: The decision was taken to continue the Games, but the proceedings were understandably dominated by these events. Some memorable athletic achievements did occur during these Games, notably the winning of a then-record seven gold medals by United States swimmer Mark Spitz , Finland's Lasse Virén taking back-to-back gold medals in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters, and the winning of three gold medals by Soviet gymnastic star Olga Korbut , who achieved

15660-534: The defendant 'Not Esther Williams'?" Scarlett Johansson 's character DeeAnna Moran in the 2016 Coen Brothers film Hail, Caesar! shares several similarities with Williams, most notably being an aquamusical star who becomes pregnant during production. Esther Williams donated her personal film archive, including twenty home movies, to the Academy Film Archive . The Academy Film Archive has subsequently preserved several of these home movies. For

15834-680: The early days. A system of reallocation was put in place so the empty seats were filled throughout the Games. Rio de Janeiro in Brazil hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics , becoming the first South American city to host the Olympics, the second Olympic host city in Latin America, after Mexico City in 1968 , as well as the third city in the Southern Hemisphere to host the Olympics after Melbourne, Australia, in 1956 and Sydney , Australia, in 2000 . The preparation for these Games

16008-429: The entire West Coast. She disclosed in her autobiography that she had an affair with actor Victor Mature while they were working on Million Dollar Mermaid , citing that at the time her marriage was in trouble and, feeling lonely, she turned to Mature for love and affection, and he gave her all she wanted. The affair stopped while Williams was recovering from her fall during the shooting of Million Dollar Mermaid. She

16182-568: The exception of a water polo match between Hungary and the Soviet Union, which ended in a pitched battle between the teams on account of the Soviet invasion of Hungary . The equestrian events were held in Stockholm due to a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Britain at the time and the strict quarantine laws of Australia. At the 1960 Rome Games , a young light-heavyweight boxer named Cassius Clay, later known as Muhammad Ali , arrived on

16356-434: The film Callaway Went Thataway (1951). In Million Dollar Mermaid (1952), Williams portrayed Annette Kellermann , a real-life Australian swimming and diving star. Williams co-starred with Victor Mature , who played Kellermann's husband and manager, James Sullivan. The two engaged in a passionate affair during filming. Williams often called this her favorite film and named her autobiography after it. Williams also won

16530-614: The film Somewhere I'll Find You . However, when Turner divorced Shaw after four months of marriage, she rejoined the film. Following several short subject films, Williams appeared as Sheila Brooks in Andy Hardy's Double Life . Sheila was a student with whom Andy falls in love. Next was a small part in the film A Guy Named Joe , starring Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne . It was here she first worked with Van Johnson , with whom she would partner in five films. Bathing Beauty , previously titled Mr. Coed , starred Red Skelton as

16704-421: The film with her because he only wanted to be involved in "important pictures". His part had to be rewritten to persuade him to take part in the film. In 1953, Williams had been on maternity leave for three months while pregnant with her daughter Susan, and assumed she would go straight to work on the film Athena when she returned. However, production started without her, and the studio cast Jane Powell in

16878-500: The film's stuntmen were sent to the hospital after being gored by bulls. Director Dick Thorpe hadn't wanted the bulls killed (as they usually were at the end of a bullfight) because he believed them to be too expensive to replace. After filming was completed on Fiesta , Williams appeared in the romance This Time for Keeps (1947) with singer Johnnie Johnston . In 1948, Williams signed a contract with swimwear company Cole of California to appear as their spokesperson, and Williams and

17052-524: The filming of Pagan Love Song in Hawaii, Williams learned she was pregnant with her third child, and notified the studio in California. Gage had met a man at the hotel who owned a ham radio and persuaded the man to let them use it to call California . What they failed to realize at the time, though, was that anyone could be listening in on their conversation, and news of her pregnancy was broadcast to

17226-402: The first being that she receive a guest pass to The Beverly Hills Hotel where she could swim in the pool every day, and the second that she would not appear on camera for nine months to allow for acting, singing, dancing, and diction lessons. Williams wrote in her autobiography, "If it took nine months for a baby to be born, I figured my 'birth' from Esther Williams the swimmer to Esther Williams

17400-479: The first games in 1896, but was subsequently varied by up to 2 km (1.2 mi) due to local conditions such as street and stadium layout. At the six Olympic games between 1900 and 1920, the marathon was raced over six distances. The Games saw Great Britain winning 146 medals, 99 more than second-placed Americans , its best result to this day. At the end of the 1908 marathon, the Italian runner Dorando Pietri

17574-459: The first running of the marathon over its now-standard distance of 42.195  km (26 miles 385 yards). The first Olympic Marathon in 1896 (a male-only race) was raced at a distance of 40  km (24 miles 85 yards). The new marathon distance was chosen to ensure that the race finished in front of the box occupied by the British royal family. Thus the marathon had been 40 km (24.9 mi) for

17748-452: The first to be held in Asia and to be broadcast worldwide on television, enabled by the recent advent of communication satellites. These Games marked a turning point in the global visibility and popularity of the Olympics and are credited for heralding the modern age of telecommunications. Judo debuted as an official sport, and Dutch judoka Anton Geesink caused a stir when he won the final of

17922-458: The funniest jokes while at the hospitals. Williams also invited GIs to dance with her on stage and take part in mock screen tests. The men would receive a card telling them their lines, and they would act out the scene in front of the other soldiers. These tests were always romantic scenes to which the men were required to refuse multiple times. When the men said the final, "No", Williams would pull at her tear-away skirt and sweater leaving nothing but

18096-564: The games, from the Coca-Cola Company . The 1928 games saw the introduction of a standard medal design with the IOC, choosing Giuseppe Cassioli 's depiction of Greek goddess Nike with a winner being carried by a crowd of people. This design was used up until 1972. The 1932 Los Angeles Games were affected by the Great Depression , which contributed to the low number of competitors. The 1936 Berlin Games were seen by

18270-571: The games. The 1992 Barcelona Games featured the admittance of players from one of the North American top leagues, the NBA , exemplified by but not limited to US basketball's " Dream Team ". The 1992 games also saw the reintroduction to the Games of several smaller European states which had been annexed into the Soviet Union during World War II. At these games, gymnast Vitaly Scherbo set an inaugural medal record of five individual gold medals at

18444-742: The gold medal in duet synchronised swimming at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. In 1933 and 1934, Katherine Curtis organised a show, "The Kay Curtis Modern Mermaids", for the World Exhibition in Chicago. The announcer, Norman Ross, introduced the sport as "synchronised swimming" for the first time. The term eventually became standardised through the AAU , but Curtis still used the term "rhythmic swimming" in her book, Rhythmic Swimming: A Source Book of Synchronised Swimming and Water Pageantry (Minneapolis: Burgess Publishing Co., 1936). Curtis persuaded

18618-410: The great all-rounder Jim Thorpe , who won both the decathlon and pentathlon. Thorpe had previously played a few games of baseball for a fee, and saw his medals stripped for this 'breach' of amateurism after complaints from Avery Brundage . They were reinstated in 1983, 30 years after his death. The Games at Stockholm were the first to fulfil Pierre de Coubertin's original idea. For the first time since

18792-427: The greatest of whom was Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi . The " Flying Finn " won three team gold medals and the individual 1,500 and 5,000 meter runs, the latter two on the same day. The 1928 Amsterdam Games was notable for being the first games which allowed females to compete at track & field athletics, and benefited greatly from the general prosperity of the times alongside the first appearance of sponsorship of

18966-531: The head." Moreau said that during a two-week training session in Colorado Springs, the female athletes suffered a 50% concussion rate. As a result, the USOC began reassessing concussion awareness and prevention for all sports. Others believe the incidence of concussions among synchronized swimmers is much higher, especially among the sport's elite athletes. "I would say 100 percent of my athletes will get

19140-405: The heat as both his opponents had been disqualified for false starts. His female compatriot Paula Barila Bolopa also received media attention for her record-slow and struggling but courageous performance. The Sydney Games also saw the first appearance of a joint North and South Korean contingent at the opening ceremonies, though they competed in all events as different teams. Controversy occurred in

19314-463: The host nation won the most gold and overall medals. The 1936 Berlin Games also saw the introduction of the Torch Relay. Due to World War II, the 1940 Games (due to be held in Tokyo and temporarily relocated to Helsinki upon the outbreak of the war ) were cancelled. The 1944 Games were due to be held in London but were also cancelled; instead, London hosted the first games after the end of

19488-615: The hosts of the retrospective That's Entertainment! III . In a 2007 interview with Diane Sawyer , Williams admitted that she had recently suffered a stroke. "I opened my eyes and I could see, but I couldn't remember anything from the past", she said. In June 2008, Williams was able to attend Cyd Charisse 's funeral, albeit in a wheelchair. In April 2010, Williams appeared at the first Turner Classic Movies Classic Film Festival in Hollywood , California, alongside two-time co-star Betty Garrett . Their film, Neptune's Daughter (1949),

19662-418: The knees. In their 2012 book Concussions and Our Kids , Dr. Robert Cantu and Mark Hyman quoted Dr. Bill Moreau, the medical director for the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), as saying, "These women are superior athletes. They're in the pool eight hours a day. Literally, they're within inches of one another, sculling and paddling. As they go through their various routines, they're literally kicking each other in

19836-511: The lead role, rewriting much of the premise that Williams and writers Leo Pogostin and Chuck Walters had come up with. The studio moved her to Jupiter's Darling. Two more films were planned, Bermuda Encounter and Olympic Venus , about the first Olympic swimmers; however, these were never made. Many of her MGM films, such as Million Dollar Mermaid and Jupiter's Darling , contained elaborately staged synchronized swimming scenes, with considerable risk to Williams. She broke her neck filming

20010-437: The length of routines. Routines typically last two to four minutes, the shortest being the technical solo, with length added as the number of swimmers is increased (duets, teams, combos and highlight). Age and skill level are other important factors in determining the required routine length. Previously, free routines are scored on a scale of 100, with points for execution, artistic impression, and difficulty. As of 2021, however,

20184-497: The local pool. She took a job counting towels at the pool to pay the five-cent entry fee, and while there, had swimming lessons from the male lifeguards. From them, she learned the "male only" swimming strokes, including the butterfly , with which she would later break records. Her medley team set the record for the 300-yard relay at the Los Angeles Athletic Club in 1939, and was also national AAU champion in

20358-403: The marathon course on her own, saying, "If the committee doesn't let me compete, I will go after them regardless". Women first participated officially in the 1900 Paris Games, with 22 women competing in five sports. Female participation has increased dramatically since then, with nearly half of the athletes in recent Games being women. The 1896 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of

20532-499: The most recent was held in 2024 in Paris , France . This was the first international multi-sport event of its kind, organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) founded by Pierre de Coubertin . The tradition of awarding medals began in 1904 ; in each Olympic event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals for second place, and bronze medals for third place. The Winter Olympic Games were created out of

20706-465: The movie actress would not be much different." While top stars at the studios such as Judy Garland , Betty Grable , and Shirley Temple took part in bond tours during the war, Williams was asked to take in hospital tours. At this point, Williams had achieved pin-up status because of the number of photographs of her in bathing suits. To prepare, Williams and her publicity assistant would listen to Bob Hope and Jack Benny 's radio programs, retelling

20880-407: The music and aid their ability to synchronize with each other. Routines are prepared and set to counts in the music to further ensure synchronization. Coaches use underwater speakers to communicate with the swimmers during practice. Goggles, though worn during practice, are not permitted during routine competition unless the swimmers have medical disabilities or conditions. A standard meet begins with

21054-507: The music to which they are swimming. The costume and music are not judged but create an aesthetic appeal to the audience. Makeup is also worn in this sport, but FINA has required a more natural look. No "theatrical make-up" is allowed, only makeup that provides a natural, clean and healthy glow is acceptable. In Canada, eye makeup must be smaller than a circle made by the swimmer's thumb and forefinger, and be used solely for "natural enhancement". Underwater speakers ensure that swimmers can hear

21228-426: The music. During a routine swimmers can never use the bottom of the pool for support, but rather depend on sculling motions with the arms, and eggbeater kick to keep afloat. After the performance, the swimmers are judged and scored on their performance based on execution, artistic impression, and difficulty. Execution of technical skill, difficulty, patterns, choreography, and synchronization are all critical to achieving

21402-418: The name "artistic swimming" diminishes the athleticism of the sport which already had historically faced an "uphill battle to be taken seriously". Another objection raised was that rebranding would cost federations and other groups involved in the sport sums of money that neither the IOC nor FINA was willing to compensate. Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Vitaly Mutko vowed that the country would still refer to

21576-408: The name artistic swimming". Competitions where the new name was first used include the 2019 World Aquatics Championships and the 2018 Asian Games . It was also used at the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2020 European Aquatics Championships . In 2022, a spattering of competitions introduced men-only individual (solo) events for the first time, including the 2022 European Aquatics Championships and

21750-555: The one he had discarded in 1960. The latter event took place in the basketball arena. The atmosphere at the Games was marred, however, when a bomb exploded during the celebration in Centennial Olympic Park. In June 2003, the principal suspect in this bombing, Eric Robert Rudolph , was arrested. The 2000 Summer Olympics , held in Sydney, Australia, showcased individual performances by locals favorites Ian Thorpe in

21924-535: The open weight division, defeating Akio Kaminaga in front of his home crowd. Performances at the 1968 Games in Mexico City were affected by the altitude of the host city. These Games introduced the now-universal Fosbury flop , a technique which won American high jumper Dick Fosbury the gold medal. In the medal award ceremony for the men's 200-meter race, black American athletes Tommie Smith (gold medal winner) and John Carlos (bronze medal winner) took

22098-541: The other swimmers in her films wore Cole swimsuits. Since the aqua-musicals were an entirely new genre, the studio's costume designers had little experience creating practical swimsuits. William's plaid flannel swimsuit for This Time for Keeps was so heavy that she was dragged to the bottom of the pool, and had to unzip the suit, swimming naked to the edge of the pool to avoid drowning. Cole swimsuits used latex, which meant zippers were no longer necessary. While filming Skirts Ahoy! (1952), Williams discovered that members of

22272-476: The pool and Cathy Freeman , an Indigenous Australian whose triumph in the 400 meters united a packed stadium., Briton Steve Redgrave who won a rowing gold medal in an unprecedented fifth consecutive Olympics, and Eric "the Eel" Moussambani , a swimmer from Equatorial Guinea, received wide media coverage when he completed the 100 meter freestyle swim in by far the slowest time in Olympic history. He nevertheless won

22446-405: The pool lined with glass walls and a glass floor so he could shoot the swimmers from every possible angle. Then he designed the swimming suits and bathing caps to create the illusion that the women were almost naked." It was shot in six days after two weeks' rehearsal.... "The results were so spectacular that the audience at the premiere gave the number a standing ovation and threw their programs in

22620-563: The primary development of synchronised swimming. In 1979, the International Swimming Hall of Fame inducted Curtis with similar accolades. The first Official National Team Championships were held in Chicago at Riis Pool on August 11, 1946. The Town Club 'C' team were the first national champions. The team was composed of: Polly Wesner, Nancy Hanna, Doris Dieskow, Marion Mittlacher, Shirley Brown, Audrey Huettenrauch, Phyllis Burrell and Priscilla Hirsch. Esther Williams ,

22794-483: The purpose. In 1917, Australian Annette Kellerman popularised the sport when she performed in a water ballet at the New York Hippodrome . After experimenting with various diving actions and stunts in the water, Katherine Curtis started one of the first water ballet clubs at the University of Chicago, where the team began executing strokes, "tricks", and floating formations. Curtis is widely credited as

22968-405: The required movements for the level. (Canada no longer uses Tiers as a form of level placement). The Canadian University synchronised swimming League (CUASL) is intended for Canadian Swimmers who wish to continue their participation in the sport during their university studies, as well as offering a "Novice" category for those new to the sport. Traditionally, the top teams hail from McGill University,

23142-546: The same time with co-stars Ricardo Montalbán, Red Skelton and Betty Garrett , who had also been in Take Me Out to the Ball Game . In the film, Williams sings " Baby, It's Cold Outside " with Montalbán. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 22nd Academy Awards . Williams and Montalbán were originally slated to sing " (I'd Like to Get You on a) Slow Boat to China ", but studio censors thought

23316-435: The scene. Ali would later throw his gold medal away in disgust after being refused service in a whites-only restaurant in his home town of Louisville, Kentucky . He was awarded a new medal 36 years later at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Other notable performers in 1960 included Wilma Rudolph , a gold medallist in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4 × 100 meters relay events. The 1964 Tokyo Games were

23490-427: The scoring system was changed so that difficulty and execution was worth more than artistic impression. Therefore, free routines now have no upper limit when it comes to final scores. Technical routines have also the evaluation of technical elements. In group routines a group consists of 8 competitors for World Championships and FINA events, each missing participant brings penalty points to the team. A group can consist of

23664-459: The show until it closed on September 29, 1940. Williams had planned to compete in the 1940 Summer Olympics , which were cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II. Sometime in the mid to late 1950s, NBC built a large studio with a huge swimming pool on Avenue M between E 14th and E 15th St. in Brooklyn, New York. The intent was, according to local rumors, that Esther Williams was going to have

23838-542: The song was too sexual (interpreting the word "get" as "have") and instead gave them "Baby, It's Cold Outside." Neptune's Daughter became the 10th highest-grossing film of 1949. Williams made Duchess of Idaho (1950), shot on location in Sun Valley, Idaho , co-starring Van Johnson and John Lund . MGM paired her with Howard Keel for three films, Pagan Love Song (also 1950), Texas Carnival (1951 ) and later Jupiter's Darling (1955). They both had cameos in

24012-538: The sport as synchronised swimming, stating that "to keep the name synchronised swimming is our right, and if the Federation itself, the coaches will want it, we will do it". Since then, most national governing bodies have adopted the new name, some such as the U.S. adopted it after a delay (in 2020), with the CEO of USA Artistic Swimming stating that "19 of the top 25 countries in the world are either partially or fully using

24186-421: The stadium. The most successful competitor was German wrestler and gymnast Carl Schuhmann , who won four gold medals. Greek officials and the public were enthusiastic about the experience of hosting an Olympic Games. This feeling was shared by many of the athletes, who even demanded that Athens be the permanent Olympic host city. The IOC intended for subsequent Games to be rotated to various host cities around

24360-467: The success of the Summer Olympic Games, which are regarded as the largest and most prestigious multi-sport international event in the world. The Summer Olympics have increased in scope from a 42-event competition programme in 1896 with fewer than 250 male competitors from 14 nations, to 339 events in 2021 with 11,420 competitors (almost half of whom were women) from 206 nations. The Games have been held in nineteen countries over five continents: four times in

24534-420: The swimmers doing "figures", which are progressions between positions performed individually without music. All swimmers must compete wearing the standard black swimsuit and white swim cap, as well as goggles and a noseclip. Figures are performed in front of a panel of 5 judges who score individual swimmers from 1 to 10 (10 being the best). If the swimmer does not do the correct figure, it may result in them getting

24708-416: The third city ever to have hosted the Games three times. Australia , Germany , Greece and Japan all hosted the Summer Olympic Games twice (with Australia planned to host in 2032, therefore taking it to three). Tokyo , Japan, hosted the 2020 Games and became the first city outside the predominantly English-speaking and European nations to have hosted the Summer Olympics twice, having already hosted

24882-473: The true originator of synchronized swimming; important historical details regarding the origin of the phrase "synchronized swimming", its reference to the Olympic sport, and the technical structure of that sport are all credited to Curtis. Busby Berkeley created a 15-minute "aquacade" for the 1933 film Footlight Parade , " By a Waterfall ". According to TCM .com, "The set, complete with an 80-by-40-foot swimming pool, took up an entire soundstage. Berkeley had

25056-504: The truth to her parents. Williams' mother seemed unsure about her story, claiming McClure was "sensitive" and felt sympathetic toward him when he admitted his guilt. However, Bula Williams then banished him from her home. McClure joined the United States Coast Guard , and Williams never saw him again. Williams was enthusiastic about swimming in her youth. Her older sister, Maurine, took her to Manhattan Beach and to

25230-535: The turn of the 20th century, synchronized swimming was referred to as water ballet . The first recorded synchronized swimming competition took place in 1891 in Berlin , Germany . During this period, many swim clubs were formed, and the sport simultaneously developed in Canada . As well as existing as a sport, it often constituted a popular addition to Music Hall evenings, in the larger variety theatres of London or Glasgow which were equipped with on-stage water tanks for

25404-461: The two male leads' characters were players in a baseball team owned by K.C. Higgins, Williams's role. She claimed that Kelly and co-writer Stanley Donen treated her with contempt and went out of their way to make jokes at her expense. The film was well-received critically and became a major commercial success, raking in $ 3.4 million in rentals and becoming the 11th highest-earning film of the year. Williams made Neptune's Daughter (also 1949) around

25578-406: The up-to-two men format of mixed gender team events at the 2022 FINA Artistic Swimming World Series . In 2023, World Aquatics added men's solo events to the artistic swimming program for the first time at a World Aquatics Championships , scheduling the debut for the 2023 World Aquatics Championships . The first Olympic demonstration of synchronized swimming was at the 1952 Olympic Games, where

25752-692: The venues for the equestrian events , which took place in Sha Tin and Kwu Tung . The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was founded in 1894 when Pierre de Coubertin , a French pedagogue and historian, sought to promote international understanding through sporting competition. The first edition of The Olympic Games was held in Athens in 1896 and attracted just 245 competitors, of whom more than 200 were Greek, and only 14 countries were represented. Nevertheless, no international events of this magnitude had been organised before. Female athletes were not allowed to compete, though one woman, Stamata Revithi , ran

25926-567: The war, in 1948 . The first post-war Games were held in 1948 in London, with both Germany and Japan excluded. Dutch sprinter Fanny Blankers-Koen won four gold medals on the track, emulating Owens' achievement in Berlin. At the 1952 Helsinki Games , the USSR team competed for the first time and quickly emerged as one of the dominant teams, finishing second in the number of gold and overall medals won. Their immediate success might be explained by

26100-460: The water out of their ears. Hair is worn in a bun and flavorless gelatin , Knox, is applied to keep hair in place; a decorative headpiece is secured (bobby-pinned or sewed) to the bun. Recently, a new substance has been developed to replace Knox, called Synkro Gelatin. Rarely, swimmers wear custom-made swimming caps in place of their hair in buns. Competitors wear custom swimsuits, usually elaborately decorated with bright fabric and sequins to reflect

26274-426: The water. They are quite common in routines of older age groups and higher skill levels. There are many variations on lifts and these can include partner lifts, float patterns or other areas of unique, artistic choreography intended to exceptionally impress the judges and audience. There are typically three parts to lifts in synchronised swimming: The top (or "flyer"), the base, and the pushers. However, sometimes there

26448-405: The world record in front of a home crowd. Canadians savoured Donovan Bailey 's recording gold medal run in the 100-meter dash. This was popularly felt to be an appropriate recompense for the previous national disgrace involving Ben Johnson. There were also emotional scenes, such as when Muhammad Ali, clearly affected by Parkinson's disease , lit the Olympic torch and received a replacement medal for

26622-620: The world. The second Olympics was held in Paris. Four years later the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris attracted more than four times as many athletes, including 20 women, who were allowed to officially compete for the first time, in croquet , golf , sailing , and tennis . The Games were integrated with the Paris World's Fair and lasted over five months. It has been disputed which exact events were Olympic , as some events were for professionals, some had restricted eligibility, and others lacked international competitors. Tensions caused by

26796-502: Was 16 years old. In 1935, Bula Myrtle Williams invited 16-year-old Buddy McClure to live with her family. McClure had recently lost his mother and Bula was still grieving over the death of her son, Stanton. Esther recounted in her autobiography that one night, when the rest of the family was visiting relatives in Alhambra , McClure raped her. She was terrified to tell anyone about the incident and waited two years before finally revealing

26970-450: Was a record at the time. The Games were also the first time mainland China (People's Republic) participated. The 1988 Games , in Seoul, was very well planned but the games were tainted when many of the athletes, most notably men's 100 metres winner Ben Johnson , failed mandatory drug tests. Despite splendid drug-free performances by many individuals, the number of people who failed screenings for performance-enhancing chemicals overshadowed

27144-401: Was also a successful businesswoman. Before retiring from acting, she invested in a "service station, a metal products plant, a manufacturer of bathing suits, various properties and a successful restaurant chain known as Trails." She lent her name to a line of swimming pools, retro swimwear , and instructional swimming videos for children, and served as a commentator for synchronized swimming at

27318-624: Was also the namesake of a company that manufactures swimming pools and swimming pool accessories. She came out with a line of Swim, Baby, Swim videos, which helped parents teach their children how to swim. She also appeared as a commentator for synchronized swimming at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Williams met her fourth husband as a result of his calling her to coordinate her appearance. She co-wrote her autobiography, The Million Dollar Mermaid (New York: Simon & Schuster , 1999), with popular media critic and author Digby Diehl. In 1994 she made her first new big-screen appearance in 31 years as one of

27492-608: Was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Olympics because of the outbreak of World War II, she joined Billy Rose's Aquacade , where she took on the role vacated by Eleanor Holm after the show's move from New York City to San Francisco. While in the city, she spent five months swimming alongside Olympic gold-medal winner and Tarzan star Johnny Weissmuller . Williams caught

27666-587: Was born in Mexico and was a native Spanish speaker while Williams had a mid-western accent picked up from her Kansas-born parents. Production was difficult with a multitude of problems. By 1947, Gage and Williams were married. Gage had traveled to Mexico for the making of the film. He got into a fight with an employee of the cast's hotel, was arrested, and subsequently thrown out of the country. The director of photography, Sidney Wagner, and one other crew member died of cholera from eating contaminated street food. Many of

27840-470: Was discovered by actress Marjorie Rambeau , which led to the family (including sisters Maurine and June, and brother David) moving to the Los Angeles area to be near the studios. Louis Williams purchased a small piece of land in the southwest area of town and had a small house built there. Esther was born in the living room, which was also where the family slept until Louis Williams was able to add bedrooms. In 1929, Stanton Williams died after his colon burst. He

28014-416: Was eventually filled by June Allyson as "Kay", a nightclub singer). Williams redecorated her dressing room to accommodate returning star Grace Kelly , packed her terry cloth robes and swimsuits and drove off the studio lot. As a result of leaving her contract, Williams lost almost $ 3 million in deferred contract payments, which had been taken from her paychecks over the previous 14 years and put aside as both

28188-547: Was first to enter the stadium, but he was clearly in distress and collapsed of exhaustion before he could complete the event. He was helped over the finish line by concerned race officials and later disqualified for that. As compensation for the missing medal, Queen Alexandra gave Pietri a gilded silver cup. Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a special report about the race in the Daily Mail . The Games continued to grow, attracting 2,504 competitors, to Stockholm in 1912 , including

28362-434: Was future husband Ben Gage . For the event, MGM publicity set up a six-story-tall billboard of Williams diving into Times Square with a large sign that said "Come on in! The story's fine!" Williams appeared in the film Ziegfeld Follies as herself. This was followed by the musical Thrill of a Romance . Van Johnson co-starred as a decorated war veteran who falls in love with Williams while on her honeymoon. Thrill of

28536-461: Was incorporated into the 2023 European Games , for the first time taking place outside the larger European Aquatics Championships. Sculls (hand movements used to propel the body) are some of the most essential skills in synchronised swimming. Commonly used sculls include support scull, stationary scull, propeller scull, alligator scull, torpedo scull, split scull, barrel scull, spinning scull, totem scull, canoe scull and paddle scull. The support scull

28710-751: Was overshadowed by controversies , including political instability and an economic crisis in the host country, health and safety concerns surrounding the Zika virus , and significant pollution in the Guanabara Bay . However, these concerns were superseded by a state-sponsored doping scandal involving Russian athletes at the Winter Olympics held two years earlier , which affected the participation of its athletes in these Games. The 2020 Summer Olympics were originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. The city

28884-1137: Was romantically linked with Jeff Chandler . She claims in her autobiography that Chandler was a cross-dresser and that she broke off the relationship. According to the Los Angeles Times , many friends and colleagues of Chandler's rebutted Williams' claims. Jane Russell commented, "I've never heard of such a thing. Cross-dressing is the last thing I would expect of Jeff. He was a sweet guy, definitely all man." She married her former lover, Argentine actor/director, Fernando Lamas on December 31, 1969. She later claimed that for 13 years she lived in total submission to him. She had to stop being "Esther Williams" and could not have her children live with her. In return, he would be faithful. Nonetheless, they remained married until Lamas's death from pancreatic cancer on October 8, 1982. She resided in Beverly Hills with actor husband Edward Bell, whom she married on October 24, 1994. In September 1959, Cary Grant told Look magazine that he had taken LSD under

29058-534: Was screened at the pool of the Roosevelt Hotel , along with a performance of the Williams-inspired synchronized swimming troupe, The Waterlilies. South Beach Miami's 2010 Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Swim, a showcase of designer swimwear, included a Williams suit, complete with a beach summer theme and sand palette with aqua accents. In 2000, an account of Williams's life and career appeared in

29232-501: Was smart, handsome, dependable ... and dull. I respected his intelligence, and his dedication to a future career in medicine . He loved me, or so he said, and even asked me to marry him." They were married in the San Francisco suburb of Los Altos on June 27, 1940. On their split she said "I found, much to my relief, that all I needed for my emotional and personal security was my own resolve and determination. I didn't need

29406-642: Was telecast on August 8, 1960. More than half of all television sets in use in the United States were tuned in to watch the Cypress Gardens special. In 1966, Williams was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Williams retired from acting in the early 1960s and later turned down the role of Belle Rosen, a character with a crucial swimming scene, in The Poseidon Adventure . (The role eventually went to Shelley Winters .) She continued to lend her name to

29580-545: Was the fifth in history to host the Games twice and the first Asian city to have this title. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe , the IOC and the Tokyo Organising Committee announced that the 2020 Games were to be delayed until 2021, marking the first time that the Olympic Games have been postponed. This was the first time since 1900 that the games were not held in

29754-524: Was the first official teaching manual for synchronized swimming. In July 2017, following a request by the IOC, FINA approved changes to its constitution that renamed synchronised swimming to "artistic swimming". FINA justified the change by stating that it would help to clarify the nature of the sport (with the new name being similar to artistic gymnastics ), and claimed it would help "enhance its popularity". The changes received criticism, with swimmers and coaches arguing that they were never consulted, and that

29928-409: Was the first singing part in a film for Williams, who had Harriet Lee as her singing teacher . Fiesta (originally called Fiesta Brava ) starred Williams as Ricardo Montalbán 's twin sister, Maria, who pretends to be her bullfighting brother in hopes of luring him back home. Audiences, and Williams, thought the film was silly, as Williams and Montalbán had vastly different accents. Montalbán

30102-562: Was the first time men were allowed to compete at the European Championships. While men are allowed in more events, they were still barred from competing in the 2016 Summer Olympics . FINA did propose adding the mixed duet competition to the 2020 Summer Olympics . In 2022, FINA allowed men to compete as soloists at the 2022 FINA Artistic Swimming World Series and the 2022 FINA World Junior Artistic Swimming Championships and LEN allowed men to compete as soloists both at

30276-564: Was working at I. Magnin, she was contacted by Billy Rose 's assistant and asked to audition as a replacement for Eleanor Holm in his Aquacade show. Williams impressed Rose and she got the role. The Aquacade was part of the Golden Gate International Exposition , and Williams was partnered with Olympic swimmer and Tarzan star Johnny Weissmuller , who, Williams wrote in her autobiography, repeatedly tried to seduce her. Despite this, Williams remained with

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