The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has taken the first step to ensure that male synchronized swimmers have a real Olympic dream, says four-time synchronized swimming world champion Alexander Maltsev .
The IOC approved the possibility for male synchronized swimmers to participate in the Olympic Games in group events from 2024 after the adoption of this rule by the technical committee of the International Swimming Federation. Under the new rules, it will be allowed to include two men in a team of eight athletes.
– Of course, we would like to see mixed pairs on the program of the Olympic Games, so that would fully unveil the very idea of mixed performances and men in synchronized swimming. I see this decision by the IOC as a first step in this direction. It would be desirable, of course, for there to be mixed groups not with a maximum of two men, but for the composition to be mixed in half – four by four, for example.
So yes, that’s the first step, but now the sport is in such a crisis, with all the basic Olympic principles being flouted, that we have to think about it first and hope to overcome this situation first. In any case, the current decision of the IOC gives men’s synchronized swimming a chance to realize the Olympic dream, the younger generation will be able to set this goal, strive to achieve it, Maltsev told .
Source : MatchTV
