Histoty of this fantastic sport!
Hi everyone!
Today we are going to do a little bit of history...
Synchronized swimming is one of the rare sport that doesn't have a male category, ironically it have been invented by Benjamin Franklin in America! He spent lots of time swimming in the Atlantic Ocean and discovered the benefits of water exercises on human health... On a trip to London in 1724, he performed manoeuvres in the Thames River that he called “ornamental swimming” for the entertainment of observers. Franklin encouraged people to start to practice this activiry, more and more people did.
The first water ballet competition on record was held in Berlin, Germany in 1891, before the sport was actually called “synchronized swimming.” It is after this competition that synchronized swimming stared to be popular in Australia, America, Canada and France.
Even if Benjamin Franklin is the father of this sport, Annette Kellerman is the one who made this activity a real sport. Kellerman was a champion distance swimmer, diver, and practiced ballerina in the early 1900s. Kellerman received a lot of media attention for a few reasons. For example people were shocked in 1807when she wore a one piece swimsuit that showed her arms and legs, or when she impressed the world by swimming almost thirty miles down the Thames River.
During the next 30 years clubs and colleges started teams. Katherine Curtis is a famous synchronized swimmer, she is the one who named the sport "synchronized swimming".
A few years later Hollywood discovered Synchronized swimming , it gave this sport even more spotlight. Competition within the United States started to heat up in the 1940s. And 10 years later the first solo event was added.
Compared to a sport like golf, synchronized swimming is relatively young and a lot can change from one Olympics to the next. The U.S. dominated the sport from its Olympic initiation in 1984 to the 1996 Games, but Canada and Japan were always strong contestants and sometimes won gold.
Today we are going to do a little bit of history...
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| .businessinsider.com/underwater-photos-of-synchronized-swimming |
Synchronized swimming is one of the rare sport that doesn't have a male category, ironically it have been invented by Benjamin Franklin in America! He spent lots of time swimming in the Atlantic Ocean and discovered the benefits of water exercises on human health... On a trip to London in 1724, he performed manoeuvres in the Thames River that he called “ornamental swimming” for the entertainment of observers. Franklin encouraged people to start to practice this activiry, more and more people did.
The first water ballet competition on record was held in Berlin, Germany in 1891, before the sport was actually called “synchronized swimming.” It is after this competition that synchronized swimming stared to be popular in Australia, America, Canada and France.
Even if Benjamin Franklin is the father of this sport, Annette Kellerman is the one who made this activity a real sport. Kellerman was a champion distance swimmer, diver, and practiced ballerina in the early 1900s. Kellerman received a lot of media attention for a few reasons. For example people were shocked in 1807when she wore a one piece swimsuit that showed her arms and legs, or when she impressed the world by swimming almost thirty miles down the Thames River.
During the next 30 years clubs and colleges started teams. Katherine Curtis is a famous synchronized swimmer, she is the one who named the sport "synchronized swimming".
A few years later Hollywood discovered Synchronized swimming , it gave this sport even more spotlight. Competition within the United States started to heat up in the 1940s. And 10 years later the first solo event was added.
Compared to a sport like golf, synchronized swimming is relatively young and a lot can change from one Olympics to the next. The U.S. dominated the sport from its Olympic initiation in 1984 to the 1996 Games, but Canada and Japan were always strong contestants and sometimes won gold.
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