American swimmer Bill May, 47, could become the first man to compete in artistic swimming at the Paris Olympics. The team events, long the preserve of women, are being opened up to mixed genders for the first time, with men now allowed to compete.
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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:10 I never felt that I was out of place.
00:21 Until people ask me, why are you doing this sport?
00:24 You're the only man.
00:25 I never thought that it was anything different than any other athlete,
00:29 at a young age, wanting to try something new, wanting to try something that they love.
00:34 So this was an opportunity of a lifetime that I didn't even know,
00:38 because this sport has given me the greatest opportunities, the greatest dreams.
00:43 The opportunity for me to feel the respect and the help and
00:49 the guidance of so many amazing people that have come before me.
00:52 [MUSIC]
01:02 I retired in 2004.
01:16 In 2015, they added men to the world championships for the mixed duet.
01:20 And it's something that I always wanted to do, but I never had the opportunity.
01:25 And I think it was a great opportunity for myself, but
01:27 also as a sport to show the growth of the sport, and to show the acceptance.
01:33 So it was for me, but it was also to hopefully inspire other male athletes,
01:38 or other athletes that want to represent diversity in any sport,
01:42 to see that they can have a dream and experience that dream, and
01:46 push for that dream, and nothing can stop them.
01:48 [BLANK_AUDIO]