Aquatic Sports
Sports played in pools, on lakes, in rivers or in the ocean — swimming, water polo, rowing, sailing, surfing, canoeing, artistic swimming and underwater hockey.
41 sports in aquatic sports.
Artistic Swimming
Olympic aquatic sport blending swimming, dance, and gymnastics — athletes perform elaborate choreographed routines to music (solo, duet, team of 8-10) in pool with judged difficulty + artistic impression + execution. Renamed from Synchronized Swimming 2017. Historically women's-only; men added 2024.
Barefoot Water Skiing
Water skiing without skis — bare feet slice through the water at 65+ km/h.
Big Wave Surfing
Surfing waves of six metres and higher — the domain of Jaws, Nazaré and Mavericks with a jet-ski tow-in.
Bodyboarding
Surf sport riding waves on a small rectangular foam board (~1m long) in prone (lying) or drop-knee position; uses fins for propulsion. Easier entry than surfing but capable of dramatic aerial tricks + heavy-wave riding (Pipeline, Teahupoo, Nazaré).
Canoe Polo
Five-a-side handball played in short kayaks on a swimming pool — hurl the ball into a suspended 1 × 1.5 m goal.
Canoe Slalom
Race a kayak or canoe through 18–25 gates on whitewater — hit a gate and you take a two-second penalty.
Canoe Sprint
Olympic paddling race on flat calm water — athletes race kayaks (K) with double-blade paddles or canoes (C) with single-blade paddles over 200m, 500m, or 1000m in single, pair (K2/C2), or four (K4/C4) crews.
Canoeing
Paddle sport using an open canoe (open-top boat) propelled by a single-blade paddle — includes flatwater sprint, whitewater slalom, marathon, and recreational touring.
Cliff Diving
Judged dive from a fixed 27 m platform (men) or 20 m (women), hitting water at over 85 km/h.
Diving
Aquatic sport in which competitors jump or leap from a springboard (3 m) or platform (10 m), execute acrobatic manoeuvres in the air, and enter the water with a minimum of splash for judged scores.
Dragon Boat Racing
Ancient Chinese team paddling sport (2,000+ year history) — long narrow decorated boat with 20 paddlers + 1 drummer + 1 steerer race over 200-2000m. Traditional Duanwu Festival ritual + modern global sport with world championships since 1995.
Fin Swimming
Competitive swimming with monofin or bi-fins — pool sprints and open-water distance races at over 3 m/s.
Flowriding
Surf a stationary sheet wave pumped over a padded floor — bodyboard, flowboard, or stand-up.
Freediving
Diving on a single breath — depth, distance and static apnoea disciplines.
Ice Swimming
Long-form swimming in water below 5 °C — races from 50 m to a full "ice mile" (1,609 m).
Jet Ski Racing
High-speed motorized water sport — riders race Personal Watercraft (Jet Skis, WaveRunners) around buoyed course at 100+ km/h; disciplines include Ski (standing), Runabout (sitting), and Freestyle (aerial tricks). UIM Aquabike World Championship since 1996.
Kayaking
Water sport in which a paddler propels a kayak (a small, narrow enclosed boat) using a double-bladed paddle — includes flatwater sprint, whitewater, slalom, marathon, sea, and freestyle disciplines.
Kitesurfing
Extreme water sport combining surfing + kite flying + wakeboarding — rider stands on small board (kiteboard or surfboard) while being pulled across water by large controllable power kite; jumps 10-30m high, back-rolls, kite-loops. Olympic sport since Paris 2024 (Formula Kite class).
Kneeboarding
Tow-boat water sport ridden kneeling on a soft padded board — competition slalom, tricks and expression session.
Open-Water Swimming
Long-distance swimming in seas, lakes and rivers — Olympic 10 km "marathon swim" and legendary channel crossings.
Outrigger Canoeing
Polynesian paddling sport in a stabilised outrigger canoe — sprint, distance and long-haul ocean races.
Rowing
Endurance water sport in which crews propel long, narrow shells backwards over 2,000 m using single (sculling) or double (sweep) oars, with or without a coxswain.
Sailing
Wind-powered water sport in which crews race sailboats around a marked course, tacking and gybing to complete windward-leeward, coastal, or offshore legs faster than competitors.
Scuba Diving
Underwater exploration using a self-contained air supply — recreational, technical, cave and wreck disciplines.
Skimboarding
Drop a small finless board on the beach shore break, run and hop on to skim across the sand and out to a wave.
Spearfishing
Freediving sport of hunting fish with a spear on a single breath — competition disciplines rank catch weight and variety.
Stand-Up Paddleboarding
Ride a long buoyant board standing up, propelled by a single long paddle — flat-water, race and surf formats.
Surf Lifesaving
Competitive rescue sport — beach sprints, surf swims, board and ski paddling, and iron-man/woman multi-event finals.
Surfing
Surface water sport in which a rider stands on a floating board and rides the face of an unbroken breaking ocean wave toward shore, performing manoeuvres for judged scores.
Swimming
Aquatic racing sport contested in a pool over set distances in four legal strokes — freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly — plus medley events.
Synchronized Diving
Two divers perform identical dives simultaneously off the 3 m springboard or 10 m platform — judged on sync as well as execution.
Triathlon
Endurance multi-sport combining swimming, cycling, and running in sequence with fast transitions — Olympic distance (1.5km swim + 40km bike + 10km run), Ironman (3.8km + 180km + 42.2km) and other distances.
Underwater Hockey
Six-a-side team sport played on the bottom of a swimming pool — push a lead puck with a small hand stick.
Underwater Rugby
Six-a-side sport played in three dimensions in a deep pool — throw a saltwater-weighted ball into the opposing basket.
Vallam Kali
Kerala's giant snake-boat race — up to 140 oarsmen row 30-metre chundan vallam boats to drum, song and roar.
Wakeboarding
Water sport of riding a short board pulled by a boat or cable, performing tricks off the wake.
Water Polo
Aquatic team ball sport where two teams of 7 players tread water in a deep pool and try to throw the ball into the opposing goal.
Water Skiing
Water sport where rider on skis is towed behind a motorboat via handle attached to towrope; disciplines include Slalom (zigzag through buoys), Trick (rotations + flips), and Jump (ramp launches for distance). Invented 1922 USA; peak popularity 1950s-80s. Barefoot skiing + wakeboarding are related.
Whitewater Rafting
Team sport of navigating an inflatable raft down whitewater rapids — sprint, slalom and downriver events.
Windsurfing
Water sport combining surfing + sailing — rider stands on a board with mounted sail via universal joint; controls direction by leaning sail; jumps, wave sailing, freestyle tricks. Olympic sport since 1984 (RS:X + Mistral historic classes; iQFOiL foil class from Paris 2024).
Wing Foiling
Hold an inflatable hand-wing while riding a hydrofoil board — the fastest-growing wind sport of the 2020s.