How Artistic Swimming is Making Waves in the U.S. Olympic Scene

 Artistic swimming, formerly known as synchronized swimming, is a hybrid form of swimming, dance, and gymnastics. It is recognized for its grace, precision, and synchronized routines performed to music. 

### Olympic Overview

1. **Introduction to the Olympics**: Artistic swimming made its debut as a demonstration sport at the 1948 Olympics in London. It became an official Olympic sport in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

2. **Events**: There are two main events in Olympic artistic swimming:

   - **Duet**: Two swimmers perform a routine together.

   - **Team**: A routine performed by a team of eight swimmers.

3. **Judging**: Routines are judged based on technical skills, artistic impression, and overall execution. Judges look for synchronization, difficulty of the moves, and how well the routine matches the music.

4. **Recent Olympics**: In the most recent Olympics, the top-performing countries have included Russia, China, and Japan, with Russia dominating the sport for many years.

5. **Changes and Developments**: The sport continues to evolve, with new rules and routines introduced to increase its complexity and entertainment value. The name change from synchronized swimming to artistic swimming was officially made by FINA in 2017 to better reflect the artistry and athleticism of the sport.

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