SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS : Some Myths Leave Him Breathless

Personal-fitness trainer Frank Carrino was watching synchronized swimming on television one day and couldn’t believe how long the swimmers stayed underwater. His curiosity piqued, he decided to hold his breath the next time the swimmers went under the surface to see if he could match them.

He couldn’t.

“And I was on the couch,” Carrino said. “They were moving around.”

So how long do these swimmers hold their breath, anyway? Many say as long as 1 1/2 minutes, but that is just one of the many myths about synchronized swimming.

This weekend, myth meets reality at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center in Pasadena, where the Olympic trial finals in solo competition will be held today and the duet competition Sunday, each from 2-4 p.m.

Myth: You have to be twins to participate in duet competition.

Reality: This myth evolved because of Karen and Sarah Josephson, the silver medalists in the 1988 Olympics, who are so good that usually they are about the only ones in the sport ever recognized, if only by genetics.

“People say, ‘Oh yeah, aren’t you the twins who were in the Olympics?’ ” Sarah says.

Myth: OK, if not twins, then both swimmers in a synchronized swimming duet have to be the same size, with the same size arms, legs, feet and toes.

Reality: They don’t, it just looks that way. The second-ranked duet in the country in 1990 included 4-foot-10 Patti Lynn and 5-2 Heather Simmons. Lynn quit shortly after that ranking, though. She said she wasn’t tall enough and thought she would never make it. Simmons got a new partner, Suzannah Dyroen, and they finished second Friday, behind the Josephsons, in the preliminary duet competition.

Myth: Synchronized swimmers have a great time during the entire routine.

Reality: “Do you see our faces out there? Well, half the time we are dying out there and we still have to smile,” Dyroen said.

Myth: There is solo competition in the sport even though it is not considered synchronization.

Reality: A soloist needs to be in sync with the music. If there is a clashing of cymbals, there must be a matching movement.

Myth: You don’t really have to be athletic to be a synchronized swimmer.

Reality: We return to the case of Frank Carrino, who being very fit himself, realized quickly that this sport requires a swimmer to be in peak cardiovascular condition, while at the same time performing skills that require strength, coordination and endurance.

Myth: In the beginning of her 1984 Olympic gold-medal routine, American Tracie Ruiz held her breath for 1 1/2 minutes.

Reality: (Laughter) “About a minute is maximum underwater,” Sarah Josephson said. “You have to have time to recover, otherwise you would be just floating around on the water, not doing anything. Karen and I stay underwater usually for about 35-40 seconds.”