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Olympic Water Ballet Dancers Train Well

Nicknamed “water ballet dancers,” synchronised swimmers need as much training as, if not more than, ballet dancers. In addition to demanding strength, endurance, flexibility, grace and artistry, the sport requires exceptional breath control in the water.

At a Beijing water polo gymnasium under the General Administration of Sport of China, the training base of China National Synchronised Swimming Team, ten young women practice getting out of the water and dancing according to the orders given by coaches. Different from many other Olympic disciplines, the orders are communicated in the water by microphones.

“Keep your legs straight, and the knees should not bend!”

These words are repeated countless times nine hours a day, six days a week, as these young athletes prepare for the 2008 Olympics.

The strength needed for a five-minute synchronised swimming performance equals that of a 1,500-metre middle-distance runner. Another requirement for synchronised swimmers is strong breath control. For experienced athletes such as Zhang Xiaohuan, holding her breath for four-minutes is easy.

But, at the beginning of their training, things were not so easy. Take the training on tiptoes and knees for example.

“Most of us majored in swimming rather than eurhythmics before we joined the national team. Artistic movements are really difficult for us,” Zhang said.

“To practise straightness of my knees and feet when performing, I once used fingertips to touch the wall and stand for 50 minutes on my instep instead of the whole foot to hold the body. Other swimmers also have experienced toenails being curved when training, even when wearing dancing shoes.”

Zhang, 26, is the team’s captain. “Though there were rumours about my retirement from the national team, I love synchronised swimming and I will endeavour to do my best. I’m not young now, but I don’t want to give up. I don’t have much time for fun or even boyfriends, but I never regret it,” she said.

Because of the artistic requirement of athletes, team members often attend concerts and watch ballet performances in theatres for inspiration. When inspiration suddenly comes, they immediately go to practice for fear of forgetting.

To achieve the best aesthetic effect in competitions, thick make-up is indispensable to prevent it being washed away by water. However, the makeup is harmful to the young women’s tender skin; their average age is 23. “We have secrets to protect our skin. We know that makeup is essential and sometimes decisive in competitions, so we are willing to exhibit the most charming and perfect image to judges and spectators,” said Zhang.

Coach Wang Jie says there are no short cuts in training. “This is a sport characterised by teamwork. The team should have the same thoughts and conduct their movements to bring artistic enjoyment to judges and spectators.”

To make better preparations for the 2008 Olympics, renowned Japanese coach Masayo Imura has been appointed coach of the Chinese synchronised swimming team.

Dubbed “the Godmother of Synchronised Swimming” in Japan, the 56-year-old Imura previously coached the Japanese and French national teams. Imura’s first task in China was the Melbourne World Championships on March 17, 2007. If everything goes well, she is expected to sign a longer-term contract with China and to take the team to a higher place at the Beijing Olympic Games.

Synchronised swimming was introduced to China in 1982, about 60 years after it originated in Canada. Foreign coaches have been invited to teach courses at Beijing Sports University. The first national team was composed of students majoring in swimming at the Beijing Sports University and swimming athletes from Sichuan Provincial Sports Bureau. In the same year, China’s first national synchronised swimming competition was held.

Twin Sisters on the China National Team

Jiang Wenwen and Jiang Tingting, gold medal winners of the duet event at the Doha Asian Games, are 20-year-old twins. Theirs were China’s first gold medals in synchronised swimming at Asian Games. As twins, they are considered natural duet-event athletes.

They first joined the Sichuan Provincial Team at age 9. Nine years later, they were recruited by the national team. At Doha, after winning their titles, they both broke into tears. “Sometimes we feel surprised that we can think and move so much alike. Thanks to synchronized swimming, we have both become more confident, open-minded and extroverted. Especially when music is playing, we know it’s our show time. We believe that we will be the most beautiful mermaids during the Beijing Olympics,” they said.