Alexandre Lefevre Despite the possibility offered to swimmers to participate in team events following a decision made at the end of 2022, no man has managed to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games.
The international swimming federation expressed its disappointment regarding the absence of selected male artistic swimmers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. It was an important opportunity for the sport, but unfortunately, no man managed to qualify.
Shortly after the announcement of the entirely female composition of the American artistic swimming team on June 8, World Aquatics regretted the absence of Bill May, a pioneer in the discipline. The first world champion in mixed duo in 2015, 45-year-old Bill May was considered the last chance to see a man represent the discipline at the Olympics.
Since the fall of 2022, nations have had the option to select up to two men for team events, but no man will be present in the Olympic pool in Saint-Denis starting August 5.
### A technique still improvable
At the 2023 World Championships, five nations had included a man in the team acrobatic program, but this number dropped to three the following year. Despite this development, no man was chosen for the other team events at the Olympics.
According to World Aquatics, it was difficult for men to qualify in time for the Games since their eligibility was only confirmed recently. Moreover, swimmers are at a disadvantage due to a point in the Olympic regulations that requires an identical team for all three events. Additionally, the discipline has been experimenting with a new scoring system for a year, which severely penalizes mistakes.
Virginie Dedieu, a triple world champion in artistic swimming, reacted by explaining that men have not yet reached the technical level required to compete at the highest level. According to her, the lag taken by male swimmers compared to their female counterparts partly explains their absence from the Olympics.
### The path of mixed duo at the Olympics
At the artistic swimming World Cup in Paris in May, Bill May had shown weaknesses during his participation in the three events for the first time. Despite this, he did not publicly react to his non-selection for the Olympics.
Virginie Dedieu hopes that men will find their place in the discipline in the future and is counting on an increase in the level due to greater male presence in clubs and competitions.
To avoid another absence of men at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, the international federation has committed to working to provide more opportunities for male athletes. It also hopes to include the mixed duo in the Olympic program for these Games.
Virginie Dedieu supports the addition of the mixed duo, provided that it does not come at the expense of the women’s duo. This battle is expected to be difficult, as the IOC strictly controls the addition of new medals.
Source of the article: Francetvinfo
