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The US artistic swimming team made quite a splash in Paris when they performed a synchronized moonwalk to Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal.
The US team had not appeared in the Olympics since 2008, but under the direction of coach Andrea Fuentes, they have been propelled back onto the world stage.
Upside down, with their feet sticking out of the water, the eight swimmers slid backward in unison to one of the King of Pop’s biggest hits.
While the choreography did not impress the judges, receiving a score of 249.0067 and putting the women in seventh place, social media users gave the routine a considerably higher rating.
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Team USA’s artistic swimmers wowed Olympic fans with their upside-down moonwalk to Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal
Image credits: David Madison via Getty Images
“The breath control. The body control. The strength. I truly cannot wrap my head around all the abilities required to do this,” an X user wrote.
“I am once again reminding everyone that Artistic Swimming is the most underrated and underappreciated OF Olympic sports. THEY LITERALLY MOONWALKED UPSIDE DOWN!” another person said.
“I’m sorry. Did I just see the USA ARTISTIC SWIMMING TEAM MOONWALK UNDERWATER??” a third fan penned.
“All of them are insane! Their skills are top-notch!!” another person added.
Image credits: Jabin Botsford via Getty Images
Artistic swimming first became an Olympic discipline at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
In the sport, a panel of judges scores swimmers based on their execution, synchronization, degree of difficulty, use of music, and choreography.
Athletes competing in artistic swimming must be flexible and maintain great attention to detail and coordination to excel in their routines.
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The upside down Moonwalk in the pool is fire 🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/oqapvItaSs
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) August 6, 2024
Team USA hasn’t won a medal since 2004. With the sport’s dominant force, Russia, being excluded from the Paris Games, China has high hopes of grabbing gold, according to Reuters.
On Tuesday (August 7), China and the United States were the leaders after the team free routine.
The gold medal will be awarded on Wednesday following the acrobatic routine, which is being introduced for the first time in Paris and will determine the winner.
The US currently has 643.0255 points, followed by Spain (633.6119) and Japan (627.9308).
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At the 2024 World Cup Super-final in June 2024, the team took three consecutive gold medals across all Team Routines.
The team swam the highest Free Team routine score recorded since the new scoring system was introduced and debuted a new Acrobatic routine that impressed all competitors.
“We have the most diverse team in the world for our sport, with each member possessing unique personalities that complement one another,” said Team USA coach Fuentes.
“We’ve created specific roles for everyone, and they thrive off each other’s strengths.”
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