FUKUOKA, Japan (AP) — Snicker if you wish. Guffaw for good measure. Bill May and other male synchronized swimmers — now called artistic swimmers — have heard the putdowns before.
But they’re getting the last laugh.
Men have competed in synchro at the lower levels for decades. Now they’re being included in the Olympics, meaning next year’s Summer Games in Paris.
“I think it’s a huge opportunity for the sport to grow and attract more men,” May told the Associated Press at the World Aquatics Championships. “By keeping men out you’re limiting the sport. By including men you’re going to see an upshift in the popularity and the numbers.”
May looks like a lean bodybuilder. He was among the first men to compete when synchro was included in the worlds for the first time in 2015. And he worked for 17 years at Cirque du Soleil doing water-themed shows. He has come out of competitive retirement for a chance to compete at the Olympics.
“There has always been that misconception that it’s a female-only sport, or that it’s for wimps, or that it’s not a difficult sport,” the 44-year-old May said. “Anyone that has anything negative to say about the sport — boy, female, anyone. Just try it and you’ll know it’s the most difficult sport in the world.”
This is not the synchronized swimming that your parents or grandparents watched — the water ballet that made few waves below the flowery rubber caps and permanent smiles, It’s estranged from the sport introduced at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
The acrobatic team event, in particular, features lifts, throws and flips, and diving routines launched off the shoulders of teammates treading water below. It’s gymnastics on water and concussions are a risk.
Interested men often confront the stereotypes.
Beginning in elementary school, 18-year-old American Kenny Gaudet dreamed of being a synchronized swimmer. He made it, but it wasn’t easy.
“It makes me emotional just to think about the problems we all went through and the struggles we all had just to get a chance to swim and do what we love,” said Gaudet who competed at this year’s worlds.
“So much bullying. So much slander. So much hate,” he added. “Just because of my gender, just because I’m a male in artistic swimming. When I first started I wanted to quit so many times. Growing up my peers would ask why I’m doing a female sport, why am I being like a girl and degrade me for doing what I love to do.”
One aspect of Adam Andrasko’s job as the head of USA Artistic Swimming is recruiting men. He said there are about 100 participating in the United States, up from 25 just four years ago.
“There hasn’t been a good foundation of growth,” Andrasko said. “You haven’t had the farm system.”
A few countries at the world championships have male swimmers including the United States, Japan, Germany and China. Spain and Italy also have top competitors.
