There are few sports as tough as swimming and gymnastics, whether in their artistic or rhythmic form. Thousands of hours in the pool in the first case, feeling the effort, the pressure, the pain in arms and legs, and the solitude, do not forget the solitude, as few specialties are as intimate and solitary as covering meters stroke by stroke. Thousands of hours also in a gym repeating acrobatics, incorporating elements of difficulty, studying landings, and taking trial and error to infinity. Now imagine what it must be like to mix factors from these sports into one. That is what happens with artistic swimming.
Put yourselves in the place of competitors like the Catalan Iris Tió, who these days in Paris has added a total of five medals to her brilliant record. A nonstop fight to almost never leave the podium. Think about the sacrifices of these women and also the men who are gradually joining what was formerly known as synchronized swimming. The Spartan life they must lead, the love they must feel for what they do, and all the sacrifice that it entails behind the scenes.
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Think about the hours of work and the sacrifices these athletes must make to stay on the podium
Yes, they are young, they are at the age to do so. Yes, all disciplines require dedication to compete at the elite level. Yes, it is true. But in other disciplines, the financial and media rewards are much greater and therefore the investment is more rewarding if success is achieved. In artistic swimming, they mostly live off scholarships resulting from a global commitment to Olympic-based sports, and these scholarships depend on results that must come. They live in the present and experience the sport in its purest form. Remember how the idea came to coach Andrea Fuentes to bring Rosalía’s Berghain theme to the water. It was while she was driving that inspiration struck, which says a lot about Fuentes’ involvement, always innovative and motivating after a splendid athletic career. That school that once emerged with Anna Tarrés and Gemma Mengual and was later succeeded by the generation of Ona Carbonell now culminates in the group led by Iris Tió. It is no coincidence. Many years and many championships. With their ups and downs. With their difficulties. With their controversies. But turning Spain into one of the unequivocal and now classic powers in artistic swimming. They have never settled. They have always looked up, towards the Russian giant who is now returning strongly. In human potential, Russia has much more to choose from. But in terms of ingenuity, Fuentes’ women are the ultimate.
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