From Wilmington to Paris: Megumi Field represents Team USA in artistic swimming at Olympics

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Starting before dawn, Olympic artistic swimmer Megumi Field’s day is packed with intensity.

Her alarm rings at 4:30 a.m., and soon after she heads to the training facility. After a core warm-up, she spends hours perfecting her routines and choreography in the pool starting at 6 a.m. Her demanding schedule includes both duo drills and team practices. By 5 p.m., she returns home and shifts to her schoolwork.

It’s that determination that has earned the 18-year-old a spot on the USA artistic swimming team, making her one of the youngest members across all USA Olympic teams. Just a week ago, Field traveled from the U.S. to Paris for the Olympics for artistic swimming, formerly known as synchronized swimming or synchro, which the U.S. hasn’t competed in since 2008.

Notably, she is one of only two Delawareans representing Team USA, alongside rugby player Malacchi Esdale.

“In February we had a qualification process with the whole world and its top five countries, we actually got gold there,” she said. “It was just so crazy because artistic swimming for Team USA hasn’t qualified since 2008, so to have been part of the team, to have brought the sport back on the stage for Team USA at the Olympics, we were just so shocked at how well we did and super excited to keep going.”

Field began her journey in artistic swimming at the age of 5 inspired by her mother’s love for the sport. Encouraged also by a deep affection for the water, she quickly found her passion in the demanding world of artistic swimming.

“I grew up watching the Winter Olympics, the Summer Olympics, and from the very first moment I watched the Olympics, I just remember being like, ‘I want to be there someday,’” she said. “I fell in love with artistic swimming and synchronized swimming. I was like, ‘This is the pathway that I want for myself … I want to go to the Olympics.’”

Born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, Field ventured to neighboring states to join artistic swimming clubs, as none existed in her home state. Drawn to the sport’s rigorous demands and disciplined nature, she dedicated herself to training at the YMCA pools in Brandywine and Wilmington while competing in Pennsylvania.

“They’re actually no artistic swimming or synchronized swimming clubs in Delaware. So I went out to Pennsylvania and I tried it out and I fell in love with it,” she said. “I trained at the YMCA in Delaware until I was 9. Then when I was around 9 years old, I made my first 12-and-under national team.”

When Fields made the national team in 2016, she flew across the country and now resides in Los Angeles.

Her training regimen extends well beyond the pool and involves a comprehensive approach to skill development. She joined a gymnastics team to improve her flexibility and participated in ballet classes to hone her dancing skills, all of which contributed to her versatility and performance in synchronized swimming.

Fields credits her achievements to the mentors who encouraged her along the way.

“Thinking back to California, Pennsylvania, Delaware and looking back at all the support I received from each of those states, I’m so incredibly thankful, and I can’t imagine myself anywhere near where I am now,” she said.

The experience in Paris feels surreal for the swimmer. She finds it both unimaginable and memorable, having never expected to be part of such an elite group of athletes and interacting with the sports stars she has always admired.

“During the opening ceremony, we saw the entire basketball team and we were right next to LeBron or Steph Curry and we traded pins with him. So he has an artistic swimming USA pin now,” she recalled as her most memorable experience so far. “I think just talking to them and seeing that, you know, they’re real-life people … that was, I think, a crazy moment.”

After countless competitions, Fields and her team, like many athletes, aspire to win a gold medal. However, their primary focus is on delivering their best performance and letting the results unfold on their own.

“As a team we’ve been very focused on not so much the results,” she said. “We’re just here to give it our all and show our absolute best performance that we possibly can and the results will come with it.”

Currently, the USA artistic swimming team is preparing for their upcoming competitions, which will be held from Aug. 5–7 and again on Aug. 9 and 10, featuring a Michael Jackson–themed routine.