Editing Synchronized swimming (section)

=== Men's and mixed competition ===
[[File:Mixed duet free final (33).jpg|thumb|A mixed-sex pair, participating in [[FINA World Championships]] of synchronised swimming, waves to the crowd before [[diving (sport)|diving]] into water.]]
Some international, national and regional competitions allow men to compete, and the [[Fédération internationale de natation]] (FINA) introduced a new mixed duet competition at the [[2015 World Aquatics Championships]].

In the late 19th century, synchronised swimming was a male-only event.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britishswimming.org/browse-sport/synchronised-swimming/learn-more-about-synchro/history-synchro/ |title=History of Synchro |website=[[British Swimming (organisation)|British Swimming]] |access-date=4 September 2016}}</ref> However, in the 20th century it became a women's sport, with men banned from many competitions. In the U.S., men were allowed to participate with women until 1941, when synchronised swimming became part of the [[Amateur Athletic Union]] (AAU).<ref name=bbc>{{cite news |last=Kremer |first=William |date=21 July 2015 |title=Why can't men be Olympic synchronised swimmers? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33566335 |work=[[BBC]] |access-date=4 September 2016}}</ref> The AAU required men and women to compete separately, which resulted in a decline of male participants. In the 1940s and 1950s, [[Bert Hubbard]] and Donn Squire were among the top US male competitors.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=o-dD3p8eTYUC Dawn Pawson Bean: Synchronized swimming – An American history.] McFarland Company Inc. Publishers, Jefferson (North Carolina, USA), 2005. Page 51.</ref>

In 1978, the U.S. changed their rules to allow men to once again compete with women. Rules in other countries varied; in the UK, men were prohibited from competing until 2014, while in France, Benoît Beaufils was allowed to compete at national events in the 1990s. American [[Bill May (synchronised swimmer)|Bill May]] was a top competitor in the late-1990s and early-2000s. He medalled in several international events, including the [[1998 Goodwill Games]]. However, male competitors were barred from top competitions, including the [[World Aquatics Championships]] and the [[Olympics]]. However, at the [[2015 World Aquatics Championships]], FINA introduced a new mixed duet discipline. Both May and Beaufils returned from decade-long retirements to represent their countries.<ref name=bbc/> Among their competitors were Russian [[Aleksandr Maltsev (synchronised swimmer)|Aleksandr Maltsev]] and Italian [[Giorgio Minisini]], both over 15 years younger than May and Beaufils. Pairs from ten countries competed in the inaugural events.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://omegatiming.com/Competition?id=00010F0300FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF |title=16th FINA World Championships |website=[[Omega Timing]] |access-date=4 September 2016}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=July 2019}} The [[2016 European Aquatics Championships]] was the first time men were allowed to compete at the European Championships. While men are allowed in more events, they were still barred from competing in the [[2016 Summer Olympics]]. FINA did propose adding the mixed duet competition to the [[2020 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Synchronized-Swimming/Features/2017/April/12/FINA-Proposes-Adding-Mixed-Duet-And-More-Teams-At-2020-Olympics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629215856/http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Synchronized-Swimming/Features/2017/April/12/FINA-Proposes-Adding-Mixed-Duet-And-More-Teams-At-2020-Olympics |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 29, 2017 |title=FINA Proposes Adding Mixed Duet And More Teams At 2020 Olympics |work=Team USA |access-date=2018-09-25 |language=en}}</ref>

In 2022, [[FINA]] allowed men to compete as soloists at the [[2022 FINA Artistic Swimming World Series]] and the [[2022 FINA World Junior Artistic Swimming Championships]] and [[LEN]] allowed men to compete as soloists both at the European Junior Championships and the [[2022 European Aquatics Championships]].<ref name="F24w13Aug2022"/><ref name="Boutin22Aug2022"/> The [[International Olympic Committee]] allowed for the participation of up to two men per team of eight in a mixed gender team event at the [[2024 Olympic Games]], competition of men in duet, solo, and men-only team events was not permitted.<ref name="FINA22Dec2022"/> The mixed team format for the 2024 Olympic Games was adapted from the mixed team format, up to two men allowed per team, used at the 2022 FINA Artistic Swimming World Series (March to May 2022).<ref name="FINA22Dec2022"/><ref name="FINA10Jan2022">[https://resources.fina.org/fina/document/2022/01/10/52f38b52-68d7-49f6-9e8c-770b9d9da922/FINA-ASWS-2022-Rules-Regulations.pdf "Artistic Swimming World Series: Rules & Regulations 2022 Edition"]. ''[[FINA]]''. 10 January 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.</ref>

Men's solo events debuted at the senior World Championships level at the [[2023 World Aquatics Championships]] with solo technical and solo free routines.<ref name="WoAq13Jan2023"/>