The first day of swimming competition at the first ever Youth Olympic Games brought yet another first in the 2-boy/2-girl mixed 4x100m free relay. The boys and girls can swim in any order they wish, but China ended up with the first gold in the event with the “one boy, two girls, one boy” strategy (source).

The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) are being held in Singapore this year, and will follow a similar every-four-year winter and summer format as the Olympic Games. The YOG holds competitions in 26 sports, but unfortunately for aquatics, water polo and synchronized swimming were cut from the lineup (source).

So, mixed relays have officially been contested in a swimming event sanctioned by both FINA and the IOC, but water polo and synchronized swimming weren’t important enough to include in the Youth Olympic Games?

With the success of the boy/girl mixed free relays, the following events should be considered for future Youth Olympics: coaches relays, watermelon relays, wet t-shirt relays, and raft relays.