Synchronised swimming or artistic swimming is a hybrid form of swimming, dance, and gymnastics, consisting of swimmers performing a synchronised routine of elaborate moves in the water, accompanied by music. Synchronised swimming is governed internationally by FINA, and has been part of the Summer Olympics programme since 1984.
The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women’s athletics and to administer national championships. During its existence, the AIAW and its predecessor, the Division for Girls' and Women's Sports (DGWS), recognized via these championships the teams and individuals who excelled at the highest level of women's collegiate competition.
Helen Vanderburg is a former Canadian synchronized swimmer and world champion.
Carla Dunlap-Kaan is a professional American female bodybuilding champion.
Michelle Calkins is a Canadian former synchronized swimmer, world champion and coach.
Tracie Lehuanani Ruiz-Conforto is a three-time Olympic medalist from the United States in synchronised swimming.
Cynthia "Cindy" Ann Potter is a former American Olympic diver and diving color commentator. She was a member of three Olympic diving teams, winning a bronze medal in the 3 m springboard in 1976.
Kelly Kryczka is a Canadian competitor in synchronized swimming, world champion and Olympic medalist.
Penny Vilagos was a Canadian synchronized swimmer and an Olympic medalist.
Rebekah "Becky" Dyroen-Lancer is an American competitor in synchronised swimming and Olympic champion.
Cynthia Lee Woodhead, commonly known by her family nickname "Sippy", is an American former competition swimmer, world champion, Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. She won three gold medals at the 1978 World Championships, when she was only 14 years old, and set seven world records during her career.
Karen Lynn Clark is a Canadian Olympic medalist and former synchronized swimmer.
Beulah Detwiler Gundling was an American synchronized swimmer, aquatic artist, choreographer and author.
Teresa "Terry" Andersen is a retired American synchronized swimmer who won all three gold medals at the 1973 World Aquatics Championships, in the solo, duet and team routines. This feat was repeated only in 1986 by Carolyn Waldo. Also in 1986, Andersen was inducted to the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
Sue Baross Nesbitt, is an American synchronized swimming champion and international coach. She is currently the head coach with the Riverside Aquettes in Riverside, California.
Kim Welshons was an American synchronized swimming competitor. She won 13 national titles and was part of the American team that won a gold medal at the 1963 Pan American Games. She was 12 at the time, and remains the youngest gold medalist at the Pan American Games. After retiring in 1970, she coached the Mexico national team for two years and served as technical spokesperson for major U.S. television networks for eight years. In 1971, she was inducted into the U.S. Synchronized Swimming Hall of Fame and in 1988 into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. She died of a pancreatic cancer in 2015, aged 64. She was survived by her mother, Kathryn Achelis and her sister, Kris Bennett.
Gail Johnson is an American synchronized swimming competitor who won four gold medals at the world championships in 1973 and 1975. After retiring from competition she had a long career as a national synchronized swimming coach. In 1983, she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
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.
Sylvie Fortier is a Canadian former synchronized swimmer. She won medals in Canadian provincial and national competitions, at the World Aquatics Championships, the Pan American Games and the Pan Pacific Games. Fortier was named the 1976 world champion in synchronized swimming for her achievements that year and was a torch bearer for the opening ceremony of the Montreal Summer Olympics. She retired in 1977 aged just 18. Fortier is an inductee of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and the Aquatics Hall of Fame.
