Synchronized swimming had its formative influences in the early 1900s in the United States. The early beginnings of the sport can be traced to 1907, when Annette Kellerman caught the national eye as the first underwater ballerina by performing "water ballet" at the New York Hippodrome.
Soon after in 1916, synchronized swimming was integrated into the physical education program at the University of Wisconsin. The first known competition in the United States was a meet between two colleges in 1939.
Two years later, the Amateur Athletic Union adopted synchronized swimming as a competitive sport for duet and team events.
The sport gained international recognition in 1951 when the U.S. solo and duet champions demonstrated synchronized swimming at the first Pan American Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The next year, the solo, duet and team events were demonstrated at the Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland.
It wasn't until 1984 that the solo and duet events debuted as Olympic sports, with the United States capturing gold in both events at the Los Angeles Games. In 1991, the IOC voted to replace the duet and solo synchronized swimming events with a single team event starting at the 1996 Games. However, the next year the IOC said duets would be reintroduced at the Sydney Games.