PARIS, France — Two locals were integral parts of Team USA's first Olympic medal in artistic swimming in 20 years on Wednesday.
Bellevue's Audrey Kwon and Issaquah's Keana Hunter helped the U.S. place second in the overall team artistic swimming competition with a final score of 914.3421. China won the gold medal with a final score of 996.1389.
Artistic swimming, which was formerly known as synchronized swimming, became an Olympic sport in 1984 at the Los Angeles games. The U.S. and Canada were initially the dominant force in artistic swimming, combining for 17 medals.
Since the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, the Russian Olympic Committee has become the top team, winning 12 consecutive gold medals. The last artistic swimming medal the U.S. took home was a bronze in 2004.
The U.S. hasn't had a team qualify in artistic swimming at the Olympics since 2008 and hadn't won a medal in the team event since 2004.
Hunter attended Issaquah High School while Kwon went to Bellevue High School.
“Knowing I'm representing such a strong country and all the athletes that came before me makes me emotional,” Hunter, 20, told KING 5's Chris Egan leading up to the Olympics. “I just know how hard everyone has worked to get to the Olympics. It's (an) amazing feeling, and I'm just so proud and excited."
The medals for Hunter and Kwon bring the total medal count for athletes with ties to Washington state to 15. See the full list of athletes from rowing, swimming, gymnastics and more here.
More local athletes also have yet to complete their Olympic competitions, check out a full list of those with ties to the Pacific Northwest here.