Vicki Valosik

"If you're not strong enough to swim fast, you're probably not strong enough to swim 'pretty,'" said a young Esther Williams to theatre impresario Billy Rose. Since the nineteenth century, tensions between beauty and strength, aesthetics and athleticism have both impeded and propelled the careers of female swimmers—none more so than synchronised swimmers, for whom Williams is often considered godmother....

"If you're not strong enough to swim fast, you're probably not strong enough to swim 'pretty,'" said a young Esther Williams to theatre impresario Billy Rose. Since the nineteenth century, tensions between beauty and strength, aesthetics and athleticism have both impeded and propelled the careers of female swimmers—none more so than synchronised swimmers, for whom Williams is often considered godmother....