What are the events in artistic swimming, and can men compete?
B · Beginner · The routines · 1 of 4There are seven: women's solo, men's solo, women's duet, mixed duet, open team, open free combination and open acrobatic routine. Men compete in the solo, the mixed duet and the open events, where a team may include up to two. The Olympic programme in the edition read has the women's duet and the open team.
How it works
- The list: "Women Solo, Men Solo, Women Duet, Mixed Duet, Open Team, Open Free Combination and Open Acrobatic Routine".
- Olympic Games: the women's duet, with a technical routine and a free routine, and the open team, with a technical routine, a free routine and an acrobatic routine.
- World championships: women's and men's solo, women's duet and mixed duet, each with a technical and a free routine, and the open team with all three routines.
- Mixed duet: "one Woman and one Man".
- Open: a team, a free combination or an acrobatic routine may include "a maximum of 2 male athletes".
- Minimum age: an athlete younger than fifteen on 31 December of the year of the competition may not compete at the Olympic Games, the world championships or the World Cup.
- One entry each: at World Aquatics championships a country enters one solo, one duet and one team in each event.
- Free combination: four to ten athletes. It is for the youth and 12 and under categories.
The glossary has the events, the duet, the team and the free combination.
Tricky cases
Is there a men's event at the Olympic Games?
No, not as a separate event in the edition read. Men may swim in the open team, which may include up to two.
Is artistic swimming the same sport as synchronised swimming?
Yes. Artistic swimming is the name the governing body now uses for it.
Can two men swim a duet?
No. The duets in the rules are the women's duet and the mixed duet of one woman and one man.
Can a fourteen-year-old swim at the world championships?
No. The athlete must not be younger than fifteen on 31 December of that year.
Why the rule exists
The events sort the same skills by number of swimmers. A solo is judged on one body, a duet on two matching, a team on patterns and lifts that need many hands under water. Calling the larger events "open" is how the rules let men in without creating separate teams.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | Women's duet and open team | AS 2.2.1 |
| World championships | Solos, duets, mixed duet and team | AS 2.2.2 |
| World Cup | A federation may enter more than one solo, duet, team or acrobatic routine | AS 6.1.4 |
| Youth championships | Adds figures and the free combination, and has no technical routines | AS 2.3; AS 5.5 |
From the rule book
World Aquatics, Competition Regulations, Part Seven: Artistic Swimming Rules (in force as from 1 January 2025), Articles 2.1 to 2.3, 3, 4.4, 5.6, 6.1, 6.2 and 13.1 to 13.4. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: World Aquatics Competition Regulations (PDF).