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| Bill
MAY |
| Sport |
Artistic Swimming |
| NOC |
United States
|
| Gender | Men |
| Born | 17 Jan 1979
in Cicero, NY, USA |
| Height | 1.75 m |
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General Interest |
Sporting philosophy / motto |
"Follow your heart and never give up in what you believe in." (fina.org, 22 Feb 2021) |
Further Personal Information |
Residence |
Las Vegas, NV, USA |
Sport Specific Information |
Why this sport? |
"When I was 12, all my gymnastic buddies thought I was weird for doing synchronised swimming. I'd push back just as hard as they'd poke, though. Besides, I was still playing basketball and football, this was just another way to have fun in the pool. My sister had synchronised swimming after my swim practice, so it was either sit and watch or join in. I figured I'd just do it for the summer, but then the coach asked if I wanted to try out for her team, the Syracuse Synchro Cats." |
General Interest |
Awards and honours |
He was named 2015 Male Synchronised Swimmer of the Year by the International Swimming Federation [FINA]. (USA Artistic Swimming Facebook page, 01 Feb 2016; swimswam.com, 31 Jan 2016)
He was named Athlete of the Year in 1998 and 1999 by USA Synchronized Swimming. (swimswam.com, 05 Feb 2015) |
Sport Specific Information |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
He began the sport at age 10 in Schiller Park, NY, United States of America. |
Further Personal Information |
Occupation |
Coach |
Languages |
English |
General Interest |
Other information |
MALE PARTICIPATION
He has worked in artistic swimming camps in the United States of America to promote male participation in the sport. "The inclusion of men in the sport is truly a platform for growth in artistic swimming and it was an honour to work with the up and coming athletes and future stars of artistic swimming. I look forward to many more camps and further development of men in the sport.” (teamusa.org, 22 Jan 2020)
RETIREMENT AND COMEBACK
He retired from competitive sport in 2004, but in 2015 after the International Swimming Federation [FINA] decided to add two mixed events to the world championships in 2015, he returned to the sport, rejoining with his coach Chris Carver. He brought US Olympians Christina Jones and Kristina Lum Underwood out of retirement to compete with him at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, Russian Federation. "It's unreal, a dream come true. Being able to do this has been a long time in the making. The sport is finally recognising men and it feels great. I have been stubborn and it has paid off." (syracuse.com, 19 Jul 2015; america.aljazeera.com, 23 Jul 2015; nbcsports.com, 27 Jul 2015)
OCCUPATION
In 2021 he began serving as head coach of the Santa Clara Aquamaids, an artistic swimming club in California, United States of America. (Santa Clara Aquamaids Facebook page, 18 Jan 2022; USA Artistic Swimming Facebook page, 16 Dec 2021; swimmingworldmagazine.com, 15 Dec 2021)
OTHER ACTIVITIES
He has performed in the Cirque du Soleil's O show, a water-themed stage production in the Bellagio Resort in Las Vegas, NV, United States of America. In 2020 he was appointed to the technical artistic swimming committee at PanAm Aquatics, and also began serving as vice provost for diversity, equity and inclusion [VP DEI] at USA Artistic Swimming. (teamusa.org, 01 Aug 2020; PanAm Aquatics Facebook page, 08 Jan 2020; america.aljazeera.com, 23 Jul 2015) |
International Debut |
Year |
1998 |
Competing for |
United States |
Tournament |
International Tournament |
General Interest |
Milestones |
He became the first male artistic swimmer to win a gold medal at a world championships when he and Christina Jones won the duet mixed technical routine at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, Russian Federation. (melmagazine.com, 03 Apr 2018; SportsDeskOnline, 04 Feb 2022) |
Other sports |
He has competed at national level in open water swimming events in the United States of America. (openwaterswimming.com, 31 Mar 2013) |
World Championships |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 3 |
2024 |
Doha, QAT |
Team Acrobatic Routine |
242.230 |
| 2 |
2023 |
Fukuoka, JPN |
Team Acrobatic Routine |
232.403 |
| 4 |
2019 |
Gwangju, KOR |
Duet Technical Routine |
86.923 |
| 4 |
2019 |
Gwangju, KOR |
Duet Free Routine |
88.300 |
| 3 |
2017 |
Budapest, HUN |
Duet Free Routine |
88.766 |
| 3 |
2017 |
Budapest, HUN |
Duet Technical Routine |
87.668 |
| 1 |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
Duet Technical Routine |
88.511 |
| 2 |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
Duet Free Routine |
91.467 |
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