The U.S. team has selected eight Olympians and reserves to compete in artistic swimming at the Paris Games. One of the swimmers who was not selected was 45-year-old Bill May, one of 12 swimmers who made the Olympic team. May was hoping to make history by becoming the first man to compete in the event at the Olympics after a rule change in 2022 allows up to two men per team. (See the video below for previous coverage of Bill May on the Dying to Ask podcast.) Artistic swimming was formerly called synchronized swimming, and men were not previously allowed to compete at the Olympic level. May retired from competitive swimming after watching his teammate win a bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. But he never gave up on his push to allow men to compete at the Olympics. Team USA head coach Andrea Fuentes said the selection of the top eight from the team's 12 swimmers was the result of a “long, calculated and tough selection process.” “All 12 swimmers broke through the national team in February, each making history and bringing new hope to our country,” Fuentes said in a statement. “No one can take this honor away from them. These 12 will forever be our heroes.” USA Artistic Swimming said the selection to compete in Paris was based on training evaluations and data analysis from two World Cups. The seven swimmers who will compete in Paris are Anita Alvarez, Daniella Ramirez, Megumi Field (Duet), Jamie Czarkowski (Duet), Jacqueline Lu, Audrey Kwon, Keena Hunter and Ruby Lemathi. Calista Liu is an Olympic alternate. The team is looking to win its first medal in 20 years. –KCRA 3's Deirdre Fitzpatrick contributed to this story. Read more of California's top news here | Download our app.
The U.S. team has selected eight Olympians and one reserve to compete in artistic swimming at the Paris Games.
One swimmer who didn't make the cut was 45-year-old Bill May, one of 12 swimmers selected for the Olympic team. May had hoped to make history by becoming the first man to compete in the event at the Olympics since rule changes in 2022 allowed a maximum of two swimmers per team.
(You can watch Bill May's previous coverage on the Dying to Ask podcast in the video below.)
Artistic swimming, formerly known as synchronized swimming, was previously not open to men at the Olympic level.
May retired from competitive swimming after watching his teammate win a bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, but never gave up on his campaign to allow men to compete in Olympic swimming events.
Team USA head coach Andrea Fuentes said the selection of the top eight from the team's 12 athletes was the result of a “long, careful and rigorous selection process.”
“In February, all 12 players were selected for the national team. Each and every one of them made history and brought new hope to our country,” Fuentes said in a statement. “No one can ever take this honor away from them. These 12 players will forever be our heroes.”
According to USA Artistic Swimming, the selection of athletes for the Paris Games was based on a data analysis of their training evaluations and performances in two World Cups.
Competing in Paris are Anita Alvarez, Daniella Ramirez, Megumi Field (Duet), Jamie Czarkowski (Duet), Jacqueline Lu, Audrey Kwong, Keana Hunter and Ruby Lematie. Calista Liu is an Olympic alternate.
The team is hoping to win its first medal in 20 years.
–KCRA 3's Deirdre Fitzpatrick contributed to this story.
See more California top news stories here | Download the app.
