Giorgio Minisini, a former world champion in artistic swimming, has decided to retire this week because no men were selected to compete in the discipline at the Paris Olympics, where they were eligible for the first time.
Minisini, who is 28 years old and has won four gold medals at world championships, announced the Italian national championships. He expressed his feelings on Instagram, saying, “Obsession is something for the young.”
Minisini and Bill May from the United States were seen as potential pioneers aiming to be the first male artistic swimmers at the Olympics. Artistic swimming, formerly synchronized swimming, made its Olympic debut at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
However, despite changes in rules by World Aquatics in December 2022 that allowed up to two men to be selected in an eight-athlete squad for the Olympic open team event, no male swimmers were chosen for Paris 2024.
The 96 athletes selected from 18 nations for the Olympics were all women.
World Aquatics expressed disappointment at this outcome, describing it as a missed opportunity for the sport. In addition to the team event, the only other medal event in Paris is the women’s duet.
Minisini specializes in the mixed duet event, which is not yet included in the Olympic program, and he did not make the selection for the team event.
Bill May, aged 45, was part of the U.S. team that won silver and bronze medals in the team acrobatic routine at the last two world championships. However, he also did not make the Olympic team last month.
World Aquatics emphasized the need for collective efforts within the artistic swimming community to create more opportunities for male athletes in the sport. They are hopeful of adding a mixed duet event for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
