Andrea Fuentes Fache (born 7 April 1983 in Valls, Tarragona) is a Spanish swimming coach and former synchronised swimmer. [4] [5] She is the most decorated swimmer in the history of the Spanish national team, [6] with four Olympic, 16 World Championship and 11 European Championship medals: her four Olympic medals also make her the most decorated Spanish female Olympian of all time, alongside Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and Mireia Belmonte. [7]
She joined the national synchronised swimming team in 1999. [6] Andrea has competed at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, where she has won four medals in the women's duet and women's team events. [8] She retired from elite competition in January 2013, citing demotivation as a result of a conflict between the Royal Spanish Swimming Federation and the head coach of the national team, Ana Tarrés. [6] [9] Since retiring she has become a synchronised swimming coach. [7]
As of 2018 [update] , Fuentes became the USA senior national team head coach, [10] working alongside Reem Abdalazem. The two have a pre-established work relationship, having worked together in synchro for four years. [11]
In June of 2022, Fuentes was poolside coaching during the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest in which the USA team was competing. Artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez fainted and sank to the bottom of the pool. Fuentes dove in to bring her to the surface. Medical checks after the rescue showed that Alvarez had apparently recovered and planned on continuing to compete. [12] [13]
In the 2024 Olympic Games she won a silver Olympic medal completing an incredible story from not qualifying to finals to Olympic medal in just 5 years.
In 2014 Fuentes gave birth to a son, Kilian, from her relationship with gymnast and fellow Olympian Víctor Cano. [7] Her sister Tina Fuentes, also a synchronized swimmer died in 2018 at the age of 34. [14]
Synchronized swimming, also known as artistic swimming, is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by World Aquatics. It has traditionally been a women's sport, although FINA introduced a new mixed gender duet competition that included one male swimmer in each duet at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships and European Aquatics introduced men's individual events at the 2022 European Aquatics Championships. From 2024, men are able to compete in the team event at the Olympics.
Myriam Glez in Lyon, France) is a French–Australian Olympic synchronised swimmer who represented France at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and Australia at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Tonia Couch is a former British Olympic diver.
Gemma Mengual Civil is a Spanish synchronised swimmer. She has competed at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. On 15 February 2012 she announced her retirement. After retiring she became involved with coaching the national synchronised swimming team. However in June 2015 Mengual announced that she would return to competition with the aim of competing at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia, in the mixed duet with Pau Ribas, whom she had previously coached. Although she had previously indicated that she would not compete beyond the World Championships, in September of that year she confirmed via social media that she would compete in the duet in the 2016 Summer Olympics with Ona Carbonell.
Svetlana Alekseyevna Romashina is a former Russian synchronized swimmer. She won a total of 41 gold medals while competing in four Olympic Games, seven world championships, and six European championships. After winning two golds at the 2020 Summer Olympics, she became the most decorated athlete in the history of her sport.
Irina Rodríguez Álvarez is a Spanish synchronized swimmer who competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Tarren Otte is an Australian Olympic synchronized swimmer. She was selected to represent Australia at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics in synchronized swimming.
Ona Carbonell Ballestero is a Spanish synchronized swimmer.
Lara Teixeira is a Brazilian synchronized swimmer. She competed in the women's duet at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics and was part of the Brazilian team at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Her partner in 2008 and 2012 was Nayara Figueria. The team of Teixeira and Figueria were known for their innovative choreography and irreverent costumes. In total, Teixeira competed at 3 Olympic Games, 5 World Championships and 3 Pan American Games.
Anna Tarrés Campà is a synchronized swimming coach and former national synchronized swimmer from Spain. She competed in the women's duet at the 1984 Summer Olympics. After retiring from competition Tarrés began coaching at her swimming club, CN Kallipolis, in 1987, where she coached Gemma Mengual to international success. In 1997 she was appointed as head coach of the Spanish national synchronised swimming team: during her time in charge the team enjoyed great success, taking four Olympic medals, 26 World Championship medals, and 25 European Championship medals, however in September 2012 the Royal Spanish Swimming Federation informed her that her contract would not be extended beyond the end of the year. Shortly afterwards 15 former members of the team issued a public letter criticising Tarrés for using authoritarian and demeaning behaviour in her role as head coach, although Mengual and national team captain Andrea Fuentes both spoke in Tarrés' defence, and Fuentes subsequently announced her retirement from elite competition in January 2013 due to demotivation as a result of the conflict between Tarrés and the federation. After her dismissal, Tarrés won a €383,000 lawsuit against the federation for unfair dismissal.
Jessica Parratto is an American diver.
Anita Alvarez is an American artistic and synchronized swimmer. Originally from Buffalo, New York, she attended Kenmore West Senior High School, from which she graduated in 2014. She began her professional synchronized swimming career after she graduated.
Lois Mae Toulson is a British diver. A specialist in the 10 metre platform, she won the gold medal at the inaugural European Games in 2015, and the senior European title in 2017. She competed in the women's synchronized ten metre platform event at the 2016 Summer Olympics with Tonia Couch and she won bronze at the 2024 Summer Olympics in same category with Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix. She won silver in mixed 10m platform synchro at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships with Matty Lee, and gold in the women's synchronized 10 metre platform at the 2018 European Aquatics Championships with Eden Cheng.
Mayuko Fujiki is an international artistic swimming coach originally from Japan, who has competed over seven Olympic Games as an athlete and has served as the head coach for the national teams of Spain, China, and the United States.
Eden Cheng is an English elite diver representing Great Britain and England. She won her first major medal in 2018 at the age of 15, when she won the gold medal at the European Championships in the 10 metre platform synchro with Lois Toulson.
Noah Oliver Williams is an English elite competitive diver who represents Great Britain and England and specialises in the 10 metre platform and synchro platform events. Williams took the bronze medal in the 10 metre platform at the 2024 Summer Olympics, the third British diver to do so in that event. In the 10 metre synchronised event at the same Games, Williams won silver with partner Tom Daley.
Delfina Pignatiello is an Argentine ex-swimmer. She participated in the 2017 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships.
Julie Sauvé was a Canadian synchronized swimming coach. Sauvé began her coaching career with the Club Aquatique Montréal Olympique in the 1970s before joining the Canadian synchronized swimming team in 1982. She continued to coach at the Club Aquatique Montréal Olympique until she was fired in 1993. While with the Canadian synchronized swimming team, Sauvé coached Olympic medallists Sylvie Fréchette, Penny Vilagos and Vicky Vilagos. After leaving the Canadian team in 2012, Sauvé coached the synchronized swimming teams of Brazil and Singapore during the remainder of the 2010s. Sauvé was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 2012.
Deborah Muir is a Canadian former synchronized swimmer and coach. She began her career with the Calgary Aquabelles club in 1965 and won silver medals in the synchronized swimming team competitions at both the 1971 Pan American Games and the 1973 World Aquatics Championships. At age 20, Muir retired from competition and began a career in coaching. She coached swimmers of the Calgary Aquabelles to 22 national titles over a decade. She also helped athletes clinch medals in the World Aquatics Championships, the FINA Cup, the Commonwealth Games, the Pan American Games and the Summer Olympic Games. Muir has won various awards for her coaching career, and is an inductee of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
Ruby Remati is an American synchronized swimmer. She represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics and won a silver medal.
