Synchronised swimming now ´artistic´ in rebranding bid

BUDAPEST: Swimming´s world governing body FINA voted Saturday in Budapest to rename synchronised swimming as "artistic" in an effort to boost the sport´s popularity.

"The reality is we are living in a sports business environment and we should find the best way to promote our sport," FINA´s executive director Cornel Marculescu told AFP.

The proposal, ratified at a FINA congress in the Hungarian capital, followed discussions with media and the International Olympic Committee, Marculescu said.

"Let´s see if it works, it will now be like other sports like artistic gymnastics, but the essence of the sport itself, the training, the performances won´t be affected," he said.

Synchronised swimming has been an Olympic sport since the Los Angeles Games in 1984.