RIO 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES

The #Rio2016 Olympic Synchronized Swimming competition kicked off on August 14th, with 5 days of total competition. We did a Olympics Instagram takeover to celebrate the amazing sport that is at the heart of our company.

DAY 1: DUET FREE PRELIMINARIES

Spectacular swims by all of the synchronized swimming duets in free routine prelims this morning at #Rio2016! We’re so proud of all the athletes!  Pictured above: Team USA

DAY 2: DUET TECHNICAL PRELIMINARIES

The level of dedication, teamwork and sacrifices these athletes and coaches have made is unmatchable. So much inspiration! Pictured above: Team Japan

DAY 3: DUET FREE FINALS

It’s the end of the duet competition! Russia took gold, followed by silver to China and bronze to Japan. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THE AMAZING DUETS! Pictured above: Team Greece

DAY 4: TEAM TECHNICAL ROUTINES

Did you know 3 of our ‘Lillies were 2008 Olympians? One represented the United States while 2 represented Australia. Pictured above: Team Egypt

DAY 5: TEAM FREE ROUTINES

Team Free competition has wrapped – Russia brought home gold, China won silver, and Japan took bronze – Many congratulations to ALL of the athletes, we can’t wait for Tokyo 2020! Pictured above: Team Russia

MARGAUX CHRÉTIEN: Rio 2016 Olympian, Aqualillies EU

Following the Rio 2016 Olympics, Margaux Chrétien, one half of the France duet, joined Aqualillies Europe! She shared a few words with us about her experience this past summer at the Olympic games.

“A Rio, j’ai vécu mes plus grosses émotions en terme de sport. Tout était grand, tout était beau (évidemment on embellit tout quand c’est nos premiers jeux) mais surtout une phrase revenait sans cesse: on y est ou encore ça y est, c’est MAINTENANT… évidemment ça met de la pression car tout le monde est méga prête, tout le monde est à son top niveau la compétition était passionnante, nous étions 5 duos à nous battre pour la 8e place ça n’était pas une médaille , mais nous avons vécu cette 8e place comme telle le plus agréable c’est que au moment de la compétition, tout paraissait limpide… nous avons répété nos chorés énormément de fois et dans des situations très différentes… nous étions prêtes à tout affronter. Je me souviens encore de cette montée d’adrénaline à chaque fois que nous sortions de la chambre d’appel pour avancer vers la plage de départ. C’était fou. Aujourd’hui je me demande comment j’ai fais pour ne pas flancher. C’était l’étape ultime de ma carrière, les JO, l’évênement que le monde entier suit, les personnes que j’aime le plus au monde étaient présentes dans les gradins. Quand nous avons su que nous étions 8e, nous avons pleuré de joie. Ca ne pouvait pas être plus parfait!”

“In Rio, I felt the most amazing emotions for this sport. Everything was so grand, so beautiful (it was my first Olympics so I felt like a little kid!), and I kept telling myself: Here we are! This is it, it’s right NOW! Obviously we had to deal with a lot of pressure because all the athletes were so prepared, and everybody was at their best for this event. The competition was intense, there were 5 duets fighting for the 8th place in the preliminaries. It wasn’t a medal, but we proudly took 8th place. The most powerful feeling is that, in the moment of the competition, everything feels so natural. We worked so hard in so many competitions leading up to Rio, we were so ready! I still remember the rush of adrenaline when we went out from the call room. It was crazy!!
Actually, now, I’m asking myself how did I not gave up! It was the ultimate step of my career, the Olympics Games, the event that everybody in the world is following. All the people I love the most in my life were in the pool bleachers, and when we knew that we were 8th, we immediately started weeping with joy. It could not have been better!”