USA artistic swimming team leaves Paris Olympics viewers stunned with move in pool and gasp ‘damn that’s tough’
TEAM USA's artistic swimming crew dazzled the crowd at the Paris Olympics, incorporating the late Michael Jackson's iconic move into their routine.
The Americans finished the technical routine round in fourth, behind France, Egypt, Australia, and Italy.
Team USA performed an interpretation of Jackson's hit Smooth Criminal on Monday.
And they adapted the King of Pop's most famous dance move — the moonwalk.
Toward the end of the routine, the octet dove and turned upside-down with just their legs sticking above the surface of the water from the knee down.
Then, they started to glide backward in a motion Jackson made famous during many of his live performances.
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"That is brilliant," NBC analyst Andrea Holland gasped.
Olympic fans were just as impressed.
"Damn, that looks pretty difficult to do!" one posted on X.
"This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen," another added.
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"Even Aquaman can’t moonwalk in the sea," a third said.
"This requires a tremendous amount of skill," one wrote.
Jackson performed the moonwalk for the first time in public during a 1983 concert at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California.
But most of the world was introduced to the dance move after the pop star took the stage during the TV show Motown 25 a couple of months later.
Team USA scored 282.7567 during the Monday round, earning 47.250 points for the degree of difficulty, 184.5067 for elements of the routine, and 98.2500 for artistic impression.
They ranked 30.7971 behind top-placed China before the following day's free routine stage.
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Artistic swimming, which used to be called synchronized swimming, went through changes ahead of the Paris Games.
This year, male swimmers were allowed to participate at the Olympic level for the first time.
"I think it's a huge opportunity for the sport to grow and attract more men," US artistic swimmer Bill May said in 2023.
"By keeping men out you're limiting the sport.
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"By including men you're going to see an upshift in the popularity and the numbers."
Team USA fielded an all-female octet on Monday, featuring Anita Alvarez, Jaime Czarkowski, Megumi Field, Keana Hunter, Audrey Kwon, Luu Jacklyn, Daniella Ramirez, and Ruby Remati.