Synchronised swimming was introduced into the Olympics as a demonstration sport from 1952 and 1968. Its first official global scale competition was undertaken in the Pan-American Games in Mexico in 1955 where there were solo, duel and team events in which the US triumphed in all.

When was synchronized swimming invented?

History. At the turn of the 20th century, synchronised swimming was known as water ballet. The first recorded competition was in 1891 in Berlin, Germany. Many swim clubs were formed around that time, and the sport simultaneously developed in Canada.

Who came up with synchronized swimming?

The sport was developed further by American swimmer Katherine Curtis, who had the idea of combining water acrobatics with music. Her students performed at the 1933–34 Chicago Century of Progress Fair, where the announcer, former Olympic swimming gold medallist Norman Ross, coined the term 'synchronised swimming'.