Banned From American Olympic Team Over Gender, Artistic Swimmer Eyes Paris 2024 Spot

The Olympics are the pinnacle of sports, where each athlete and sportsperson hopes to one day etch their name. As the Paris 2024 Olympics approach, the aspirations of countless athletes and sportspeople are on the verge of being realized. Among them stands a 45-year-old artistic swimmer whose Olympic dreams were previously halted due to his gender.

He watched the US team win bronze in Athens 20 years ago, when men were still banned from artistic swimming. However, a rule change announced over a year ago enabled the talented American to finally fulfill his lifelong ambition of gracing the Olympic stage.

U.S. artistic swimmer earns a spot in Paris 2024

According to CNN, Bill May, an integral member of the U.S. artistic swimming team at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar, has secured his spot in the Paris 2024 Olympics. He shared, “There is nothing in the world that could ever be bad right now. Everything is beautiful, amazing, wonderful. We’re going to the Olympics.” May’s journey to the Olympics has been challenging.

Knowing that his path to the Olympics would be difficult, he even pursued other opportunities, such as joining Cirque du Soleil. Formerly known as synchronized swimming, artistic swimming was exclusively reserved for women until 2015, when men were finally welcomed into the fold. It was in 2015 that Bill May clinched gold in the Mixed Duet Technical Routine competition at the World Aquatics Championships.

Then, in a monumental decision announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in December 2022, men were granted the opportunity to compete in the team event of artistic swimming at the 2024 Paris Olympics. This landmark announcement paved the way for athletes like Bill May to showcase their talent on the grandest stage of all. So how did Bill May secure this opportunity?

How did Team USA punch their ticket to the Olympics?

At the  2024 World Aquatic Championships in Doha, Team USA, including Bill May, achieved a historic milestone by securing their spot in the Paris Olympics, marking the first time since 2008 that the United States would compete in artistic swimming at the Olympic Games. Team USA performed well in the technical routine, earning a spot in the finals and finishing in fourth place.

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Despite his age, Bill May is intensely preparing for the 2024 Paris Olympics by dedicating himself to a rigorous training regimen. Speaking of America’s chances at the Olympics, he shared, “I feel that we’re going in with the greatest team in the world – the team that works the hardest, the team that has the most drive and determination.” 

Also read: Will Deception From the American Women’s Cycling Team Derail Team USA’s Road to the Paris Olympics?