Love is inevitable if you want to reach the highest highs in any sport. In elite competition, the love-hate relationship that synchro produces is something all athletes go through, due to painful energy and time-consuming preparations, basemark stresses, and all the other “fun” things that make you a professional artistic swimmer. But there is an oasis in artistic swimming where the hate part doesn’t really exist. 

A few weeks ago, Belgrade was the epicenter of European artistic swimming. But then, it became just that, a perfect haven thanks to the European Masters Championships. Here, the “old” system is still alive and well, and every athlete I met was only here to enjoy the experience and have fun.

 

There are forgotten legends – but not by all – of the sport, ex-competitors, coaches, or just synchro enthusiasts. But in whichever category you put them, they are simply amazing. The feeling of happiness and joy for just being here was overflowing Belgrade’s Milan Gale Muskatirovic synchro venue, and I felt blessed to witness it firsthand. 

Neither the 40+ C° on the third day of competition, nor the rainy and very cold fourth day could stop them from shining bright and doing what they love the most. Thanks to Inside Synchro, I will be sharing with you amazing stories from people in the masters community who are deserving of the recognition they rarely get.

 

Legends back in Belgrade half a century later

The first World Aquatics Championship took place in 1973 in Belgrade, and now 51 years later, it’s a center of artistic swimming once again. The amazing thing is that two fantastic ladies have shone in both of these competitions.

Danish artistic swimmer Kirsten-Lilian Johansen competed in the 80+ age category in both solo events and won two silvers, while madame Françoise Noyer of France swam both duets with her club duet partner Dominique Blanc-Lainé, winning two golds in the 70-79 age group. Françoise was fifth in solo, seventh in duet and seventh in team in 1973.

What is also amazing is that she was the first-ever French Artistic Swimming Olympic coach in Los Angeles 1984. She practices synchro three times a week and feels blessed that she wakes up each day with the possibility to do synchro. She has always wanted to try a mixed duet as well, but can’t find a partner with good enough toe points… for now!

Synchro is no joke

Usually, men who join the synchro community have a cool backstory of how they started. The oldest one I have met so far, mister Christian Bordeleau is no different. After swimming for decades, he and his friends decided to surprise the synchro club that was training at the same pool by creating a gala as a joke. That joke turned into a passion that has lasted for the last 26 years.

Since that fateful summer of 1998, he has been training in this sport because it’s not just counting tiles like swimming, and because it gives him the excuse to travel the world. His solos in Belgrade captivated the judges, and his deckwork clearly showed his theater background, as he is a trained actor.

Classy behind the mic, phenomenal in the water

Her voice is recognized by many, but few know that 44 years after her retirement, she’s still got it. During the elite championships, I’ve seen her swimming in between commentary sessions in the indoor practice pool, revising her own choreographies while the synchro world got a sneak peek at what was to come at the masters event. 

But Andrea Holland didn’t just compete one or two routines; she swam in six events and won six medals: four golds in the team and duet events, and two silvers in solos. The Doha 2024 solo world champion in her age group was the oldest in her team – 29 years older than the youngest woman in the Rushmoor team, but she didn’t lack the energy nor height. 

 

Always smiling, Andrea says that during routines, she tries to fix mistakes that she would commentate on if she were outside of the pool. And I can tell you, traveling in solos and pattern changes in teams were on point.

Andrea and her duet partner Carolyn Wilson, a European Champion in solo three times in the 1980s, have a shared history that goes back decades. They were already competing together at the World Cup in 1979, where they finished in fourth place, an agonizing moment for them.

Fast forward 40 years, and they finally got the gold they had wanted when they won the 60-69 Years duet event at the 2019 World Masters Championships in Gwangju. Their partnership, spanning over four decades, is a testament to their dedication and love for this sport.

Mother-daughter duets taking over

We’ve seen many mother-daughter duets in the synchro world. Heck, I’ve been fortunate enough to be training with one for the last three years! But these two pairs I’ve seen in masters are something else. 

Italian Michela Barbini, 60, Andrea Holland’s friendliest rival and two-time solo champion in Belgrade, also swims a duet with her daughter Alessia, 26, who lives thousands of kilometers away in the U.K. At the Doha World Championships this year, they were the 40-49 silver medalists. They practice their duet online, and travel to each other’s places to train and then compete on the world stage. 

Oh yeah, this 40-49 silver world medal comes while Michela is in her seventh decade. Alessia had exams during Belgrade and couldn’t swim with her mom, but they just won the Italian national championships together last week.

On the other hand, we have a Polish mother-daughter duet that has switched roles. Swietlana Szczepanska is a familiar face in the synchro world as she competed in the 2019 and 2021 European Championships for Poland. Now, she works as a masters team coach, and Helena, one member of her team and combo, is her mom. A free duet gold and two solo silvers for mom shows that Swieta’s future in coaching is bright. What a parallel universe masters are, and I love it.

Final words

The Belgrade European Masters Championships felt like going into a time capsule. Legends of the sport, old rules, fun routines and a breath of fresh air for the judges. This was the first masters competition I’ve been to thanks to my federation’s president Iva Popovic, and organizer Ivana Krstic. I can’t thank them enough for this experience. 

The love masters have for this sport, to take time away from their jobs and families, is something we should all envy. Smiles all around from the athletes and the very friendly staff (shoutout to Gabriella Kobolak, referee of the championships) made me proud to be a part of this competition. I can only hope Belgrade will host them once again very, very soon.

ARTICLE BY IVAN MARTINOVIC

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