Unpredictable Turn in Artistic Swimming at Paris Olympics

With Russia absent following the invasion of Ukraine, artistic swimming at the Paris Games began with unexpected excitement. China currently leads the competition. Since the 2000 Sydney Games, Russia had dominated this sport, but its absence has opened the field to other contenders. Team events now include men, although no teams have chosen male swimmers.

With longtime powerhouse Russia not competing at the Olympics after the invasion of Ukraine, artistic swimming commenced Monday at the Paris Games with a rare dose of unpredictability.

China led the competition after the team technical routine with 313.5538 points, followed by Spain (287.1475), Italy (277.8304), and France (277.7925).

Russia, which started its winning streak at the 2000 Sydney Games, has claimed every Olympic gold in the sport formerly known as synchronized swimming since then, totaling 12 victories. The nation has been largely sidelined from international sports after initiating its conflict with Ukraine, skipping major competitions since the Tokyo Olympics.

Importantly, men were allowed to participate in the team event for the first time in these Games, although none of the participating 10 teams selected a male swimmer. The artistic swimming team competition will proceed Tuesday with the free routine, followed by the acrobatic routine on Wednesday to determine the gold medal winner.

(With inputs from agencies.)