Splash In: Aquatic athletes star in new Olympic Channel series - Watch now

Exhilarating music tracks and stunning imagery combine to help tell the stories of seven water sports competitors and their journeys until now.

4 minBy Chloe Merrell

Are you ready to dive deep into the world of aquatics?

Splash In, a new series launched by the Olympic Channel on Olympics.com on Thursday (16 June), provides a fresh insight into life across the water sport spectrum, showcasing the highs and lows of life in the pool.

Seven inspiring athletes feature across six episodes. At the heart of each story are lessons in perseverance, belief, and achievement. They're all four minutes long, and set exhilarating soundtracks.

Team USA’s Michael Andrew and Swede Sarah Sjostrom show a glimpse of life in the swimming lanes, Melissa Wu and Molly Carlson share the view from the top of the diving board, British pair Izzy Thorpe and Kate Shortman give a unique look into the world of artistic swimming and Italian ace Michael Bodegas talks teamwork and friendship in water polo.

Every episode is available to watch here now, on the eve of the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, which start on Friday (17 June).

Episode one: Michael Andrew

Michael Andrew of Team USA is the star of the very first episode of Splash In.

Andrew was a teenager when he first started breaking American national age group records and, over the course of his career, he has set more than 100 national records.

At Tokyo 2020 in 2021, Andrew helped the US break the world record in the 4 x 100m medley relay which, coincidentally, was this aquaman's first Olympic Gold medal.

The episode soundtrack is provided from Glass Animals.

Episode two: Molly Carlson

Canadian Molly Carlson started off life as a gymnast, before then switching to diving.

As she got going, she chose to specialise in high diving (20m) because, for the 23-year-old, that is what bravery is.

Along the journey, she has learned how to deal with mental health struggles and now shares that experience with her fans as a mental health advocate and founder of the #bravegang.

Her story is set to music from Bastille.

Episode three: Melissa Wu

The third episode of the series stays focused on life in the plunge pool, but this time on an athlete living on the other side of the world.

Melissa Wu is an Australian Olympic diver who perseveres no matter what.

At the age of 10, Wu knew that diving was the sport for her but throughout the course of her 16-year career, found herself tested by anxiety, and a lack of self-belief.

Then Tokyo 2020 happened.

Watch how she coped with the pressure, to the tunes of Bree Runway.

Episode four: Izzy Thorpe and Kate Shortman

Years ago, their mothers competed in synchronised swimming together. Now Izzy and Kate are following in their footsteps as artistic swimmers.

The two best friends are fully in synch both in and out of the pool. Tokyo 2020 was their Olympic debut for Team GB, and they are now looking forward to making a splash at Paris 2024.

Sigrid's music provides the vibe for this episode.

Episode five: Sarah Sjostrom

When Swedish swimmer Sarah Sjostrom broke her elbow a few months before Tokyo 2020 in 2021, fans thought she may not even compete at the Olympics. But against the odds she fought back.

Thanks to an accelerated recovery Sjostrom made it to Japan and ended up winning silver in the 50m freestyle. She currently holds five world records and her ambition doesn’t stop there. The Swede is eyeing Paris 2024 and a whole host of new achievements.

Check out her story, soundtracked by Mabel.