The 12 Craziest Synchronized Swimming Suits

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Synchronized swimming is all about completing basic movements like clockwork in a 3-meter deep pool: pointed toes, dramatic faces, and always, always jazz hands. And of the nations that competed on Sunday and Monday, many dances were themed: from France’s “Swan Lake”performance to a Mexican wolf-inspired dance that included spitting water.

But if the competition was based on bathing suits alone, the Russians would take it. Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina debuted a synchronized swimming duet so strong they advanced in the lead to Tuesday’s final. Their technical routine during preliminaries on Sunday was a tribute to Michael Jackson, set to a mash up of his songs and featured bedazzaled bathing suits with his profile on it. Their second dance was set to the tune of Tim Burton’s “Sleepy Hollow,” and they wore swimsuits adorned with creepy dolls. From Switzerland’s bank-robbers to Khazakstan’s tuxedo-inspired numbers, see our ranking of snychro’s finest fashions.

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Nuria Diosdado Garcia and Isabel Delgado Pancarte wore neon tiger heads.

(Martin Bureau/AFP/GettyImages

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Thank god for skin-colored mesh.

(Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

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We give high marks to Brazil’s Nayara Figueira and Lara Teixeira for their human brain swim caps, and bonus points for the neon skeleton suits.

(Fabrice Coffrini, AFP/GettyImages)

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Dragons galore: just don’t tell Daenerys.

(Al Bello/Getty Images)

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Nevermind the brouhaha over Swiss bank accounts. Switzerland’s Anja Nyffeler and Pamela Fischer are Gangsters, capital G.

(Martin Bureau, AFP/GettyImages)

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This vaguely retro, polka-dotted number would be right at home in Debbie Phelps' collection for Chico’s.

(Martin Bureau, AFP/ Getty Images)

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Russia’s Svetlana Romashina and Natalia Ishchenko channeled Russian dolls in suits with a scared-looking girl on them. Their makeup was the same level of scary.

(Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/GettyImages)

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We can’t tell if American swimmers Mary Killmans and Mariya Koroleva were inspired by Girl With The Dragon Tattoo or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – but relative to their competitors, it was a serious mistake to skimp on the neon.

(Martin Bureau, AFP/GettyImages)