American artistic swimmers have ended a 20-year medal drought in their sport with a silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and among the group of women is the pride of Andover, Massachusetts — Ruby Remati.
Remati knew at a young age she wanted to be in the Olympics and win a medal while wearing a sparkly swimsuit.
“Literally every night I've visualized this moment and the fact that it's like reality right now is absolutely insane to me,” she said after her win.
It was a drive her coach at the YMCA in Andover couldn’t ignore.
“You can dream and you can achieve you just have to put in the hard work,” said Leah Mucci, who coached Remati as a child.
Mucci met Remati when she was 11 years old.
“I just helped her along her path for her dreams and encouraged that,” Mucci said.
That guidance would eventually help Remati make the national team and qualify for the Olympic games.
Mucci said the Olympics were also her dream, and while she was unable to qualify in 2012, she continued to follow those aspirations through her young athletes.
“I just want this team to be you know like the 2004 for me you know like to inspire the younger athletes as well,” Remati told NBC10 Boston’s Bianca Beltran before heading to Paris.
The last American artistic swimming team to medal was in 2004, when it was still known as synchronized swimming.
As fate would have it, Remati and her teammates would do even better, carving a path for others like her who dream of competing on the world stage.
“The only word that comes to mind is inspiring and I'm so proud to see you know everything that she's accomplished and what she's creating in our sport and in our community, for all the hard work,” Mucci said.
Emma Stump, who coaches synchronized swimming at the Y today, said she is also able to live her dream through her young athletes, but it's not just about the hardware.
“I always tell my athletes first and foremost we need to have fun we need to build relationships because I don't have the gold medal, right, I didn't get to that level but I have connections with my teammates that’ve lasted a lifetime… “
There is a lot of promise in this young group to work these next four years toward gold, something Team USA hasn’t accomplished since 1996.
