All language subtitles for Perfect-2018

: Synchro,
to most people, is quite easy.

They see the smiles,
the makeup,

the hair gel, the flashy suits.

It's kind of a joke to them.

But it's a really hard sport,
and really impressive.

It's probably like running
an Olympic-level, like,

400-metre sprint

while holding your breath.

It's what the top athletes do,

plus no oxygen.

- ...6, 7,

8, 9.

- 3, 4, 5, 6, 7...

: I had no intention of
becoming a synchro swimmer.

I was a gymnast in Calgary
for five years.

Obviously, the dream was
to be an Olympic gymnast.

That's what I was going for.
But, you know,

after face-planting
all the time,

I figured it would be a little
bit easier if I did it
in the water instead.

I didn't really get
the full understanding of
what synchro really was.

A lot of the work that we do
is from other sports.

So we run, we do gym work,
weights, ballet, etc., etc.

But we do that as our warm-up
to do our own sport.

- It shows like,

if you're below
the bottom line,

then you've obviously hit
too low.

If you're at the second line
and you can maintain it,
then it's really good.

And if you're at the top line,
well, that's awesome.

: Synchro is a sport
that's gonna be mocked
no matter what,

because, I mean, we give them
the opportunity to do it to us.

If we didn't have the makeup,

if we didn't have
the flashy suits,

if we didn't pretend to smile
sometimes...

I mean, that happens, of course,

when you're tired, you, like,
just put on a face.

And I think if we showed them

what we did
on a daily training basis,

or what we do in a training camp

leading up
to our base competition,

they would think
way differently.

- And 3, up!

And 4! Let's go! Let's go!

: We were starting
the routine over and over again

until we had
the first thing perfect.

If we didn't have it perfect,
the music would stop.

Every time someone made
a mistake, music would stop.

That's how crazy it was.

: The stress levels
are pretty high.

Uh, I mean, right now,
as a team, we understand that,

you know, she's gonna be
really intense

and that she's looking
for a lot of huge things

coming out of us.

- Tam-tam! Tam-tam!
Tam, tam, tam-tam!

Whoo!

Yeah!

- Shotgun!

- Whoo!

- Ah! Ah!

: For sure,
Bratislava was a challenge.

I think everybody on the team
was really tired.

So, pushing through that,

I think gave us a little bit
more confidence

going into Kazan.

This year, it's going
to be really important,

because it's our stepping stone
to Rio.

We, right now, are in a very
difficult position

with the Olympics coming up,

and we need to be in the top 3
at the next qualifier in March.

So we really have
to compete well,

and show the judges

that we deserve
to either beat Spain

or at least come really close.

: Every competition,

it's always the same rumors
about our bodies.

Some of the judges
might penalize us

because we're not the same.
We're too physically different.

And it's kind of
an unwritten law in the sport.

Being synchronized in movement
is just not enough.

You have to be similar
in the way you look

because it gives that illusion
of a type of synchronicity.

For sure, compare it to teams
like Russia and China,

we're gonna be different.

Um, in these teams
and in these countries,

they select the swimmers
from such a young age,

and they're selected
on their potential

to achieve a certain body type
and a certain size.

And, basically,
they look like twins.

That would be the definition
of perfection in synchro.

: Us, as Canadians,
we are a very diverse country,

and we are a very diverse team.

We really try to blend the team
really well

so that we disguise
anything that's different.

Like tanning our skin to make
sure we're the same skin tone
as Marie-Lou,

or if that's, you know,

painting on eyebrows at the
right level or the right colour,

so that we can make
the same facial expressions.

: There's been a little
bit of communication issues,

because it's loud at the pool,

and there's, like,
a Chinese coach,

a Russian coach, a Japanese
coach, a French coach.

The stress level is, like,

on hyper speed.

Like, we're...
bam-bam-bam-bam-bam.

We're trying to do so much stuff
in little amounts of time,

because we don't have that much
time in the training pool

or in the facility.

: This morning,
we were training, and...

Karine dislocated her knee
in the run-through.

I had no idea what was going on.

Her body is one of
the older ones

and she's been through a lot
with this team from like,

past years.
But she's a strong woman.

A little bit of tape,
a little bit of ice,
she'll be fine.

I mean, all of us are pushing
through some sort of pain,
at this point.

Synchro is really...
a tough sport.

Especially because we are...

doing a lot of things
underwater at the same time.

We're changing patterns,
we're kicking, we're...

You know, there's a lot
of body contact.

This sport is almost
as contact as football.

- During my career,
the injuries that I had

were a broken finger,

a broken nose
and a serious concussion.

- I've had three concussions,
a black eye, a chipped tooth,

a shoulder dislocation,

hip injury, knee dislocation.

- My, I guess,
gluteus maximus muscles...

get really tense and, like,
spasm up sometimes,

and I'm limping around
for a few days.

- I think I broke my toe.

I'm not a 100 percent.
I didn't get an X-ray.

But, like, three years ago,
someone smashed
really hard onto my toe.

It still hurts to point it,
so I'm pretty sure there was
something wrong with that.

- Um, I've been pretty lucky.

I've had five sprained ankles,
a tendonitis in my left foot,

tendonitis in my right foot,

a pulled hamstring
in my right leg,

pulled sartorius
in my right leg.

And I think that's about it.

- How'd you get
this bucket of ice? Oh, my God.

I think that's enough, thanks!

- Have fun.

- Oh, no!

Ooh!

Okay.

- Nice.

- Yeah. Like Paula said, like,

I was waiting
for something more major.

Like, there's little things,
but it's still a really
solid one for us.

- I love the energy.
It was much better.

There's just little things like,
we're not initiating
at the same time.

- Right.

- But, overall, I thought that
the energy was really good.

:
Before each competition,

I have a very similar fear
with regards to the results.

Synchro is a judged sport,

the artistic notes
take a lot of importance,

so there's a lot
of subjectivity.

Judges are human, so for sure,

if they don't like a routine,
they're going to mark it down.

And it's normal.

I would probably do the same.

But because of
that subjectivity,

there is so much politics
in this sport,

and the ranking seems to be
very similar

from competition to competition.

Other artistic sports,
like figure skating and diving,

have really had
their revolutions

to find
a more objective judging,

but sometimes I feel like
we are stuck in a system

that is really detrimental
to our own sport.

: I understand
why people don't get
the makeup part.

But if you think about it,
we're in a stadium of, like,

50 000 people

and how are they gonna see
our faces

when we're tiny dots
in the water.

That's another thing,

people don't really understand
how big our competitions can be

and how much we have to portray
ourselves in our routine.

: For me, it's just...

we have to keep pushing.

No matter what,
she's gonna swim.

She has no choice.

This is world championships.

This is what's gonna lead
to the Olympic qualifier.

If she doesn't swim,

we're not gonna go to the
Olympic qualifier as winners.

We're not gonna go
and be set

for potentially going
to the Olympics.

So, in the team's opinion,
I think,

she doesn't really
have a choice.

: Presenting team
number 18 from Canada.

: The last swim
was great.

It was good to hear that we had
our best swim ever at World's.

I don't think we've ever had
an opportunity like that.

Especially with this team,
it's so new

that, you know,

it took a really long time
for us to come together.

So at this point,
it's really great to hear.

The 90 wasn't good enough.

We got beaten by Spain
and by Italy,

which should not
have happened at all.

We ended up in seventh position.

And that is a really
disappointing way
to end the summer.

It's something
we've been working for

for a really long time,

and to have it taken away
at the last second,

it's...
not the easiest thing.

:
I really wish that we could...

you know...

maybe, I can't say that
we could be good enough,

because we are good enough.

It's just... I wish the sport
wasn't so political

and that we were...

given the proper chance

to make it
to where I think we deserve.

- It's definitely heartbreaking

to think that, you know,

this has been my dream
since I was eight

and we might not go.

And if I'm gonna be, like,
completely honest,

we probably won't,
based on the marks

and what they're giving us
at World's, so...

Yeah, it's hard.

: Well,
it's been an intense summer.

Starting off with the gold medal
at the Pan Am Games in Toronto

in front of a home crowd,

and then to end with such
a disappointment in Kazan;

it was really exhausting.

So we'll have some time off
to kind of relax

and calm each other down.

This is pretty much
my home away from home.

My parents raised me here,
pretty much.

We did a lot of skiing,
lots of hiking.

So, for me, coming to the
mountains is kind of an escape.

World's was a little bit
of a negative experience for me.

So people ask me about it here
and I'm a little bit negative.

And, you know,

they're trying to pep me up
until my next adventure,

so it's good.

- Oh, look at this!

- My God. How did it feel,
Claudia?

Like, when you were
on the podium

and the Canadian flag rises up.
- I started crying.

- Yeah, I watched that.

- I started crying
after the swim,

I started crying during the...
singing the national anthem.

- We were so proud.

- It was really fun.

It was like, my favorite
competition ever.

Probably because, yeah, we won.

- To Claudia!
- Thank you.

- This was second
in solo prelims.

- Still at UANA, yeah.

- Really tight.

- Look at this.
- Yeah, that's tight.

- That... yeah, that was good.

This is the mermaid combo.

- My face is terrible.

It's like the Scream picture
that is so famous.

It's terrible.

- This is your little mini
scrapbook

of all the people that
you wanted to be like.

That's Natalia Ishchenko.

- This was the year
I got my concussion,

so it was really important
for me to have some
sort of guideline.

It's pretty good.

- Yeah.

- We can sit.

- That's perfect.

That routine is so nice.

- We almost have
to not be scared
to do a few awkward things

to make the good stuff good.
Like, they have that weird...

Like when one girl
just comes up.

Or like in the figure where
they had three in this line

doing this
and one girl over here.

And for a second, it's weird,
but then it's... You know?

I feel like we would never
do that.

- Where we have like, two sets
where we're gonna
fill in something

and we just fill stuff in
for not really a purpose.

And I feel like their routine
is really well choreographed
that way.

Like, every pattern moves
fluidly throughout the routine.

And every figure shows
difficulty.

They either show height,
they show a spin,

they show something
that shows their strength.

- Well, we talked
really quick about...

We want the opening
to be really interesting.

Like, right away, the judges
need to see that we're like,

doing something
completely different.

I think we need
to dare more.

We watched Japan, China,

like, Japan, especially is
freaking weird, but like,

at least they went for it,
you know.

They didn't hold back
on anything.

- Okay, well, for me, I think,
there's, yes,

there's a certain amount
that we can all change

and we can all put
more effort in, fine.

But we need to figure out
how we're gonna use

our, maybe, like, power

and our, you know, look,

which is different
than all the top countries,

but how can we use that
to our advantage?

- One.

- Ready, go!

- Yeah, you finished
after Italy.

- Yeah.

- And it's very difficult
to understand why.

In fact, our analysis show
that it's impossible.

But we have to play
with this judging system.

It's...
- Right.

- Ukraine and Spain
are far, far, far

from all the other countries
in terms of quality.

They did many, many mistakes.

Italy is quite clean.

But we'll see that
their choice to...

their strategy to be clean is...
- Lower...

- Lower: everything easy.

- You start with like,
a heartbeat or whatever,

then there's, whatever,
sounds of ambulance.

And then it goes, you know,
when the flatline goes,
like beep, like that.

The whole routine, basically,
you are fighting for your life,

and at the end,
you hear the heart again.

- The person's like,
about to die. But then like...

- Oh, or she's dead.

- Or she's dead and then
she like, comes back to life.

- You know, when like,
a person dies,

people say that they see
the light or whatever,

like there's an afterlife
or something like that?

It's like a dream
within a dream, kind of,

that we talked about.
Like limbo, yeah.

- So they're all in this world
controlled by Big Brother

and they're all--
- It's like the government.

- Big Brother is like, yeah,
it's sort of this...

God-like figure,

but it's hardcore communism,
basically.

They control your thoughts.
They control everything.

: The qualifications
are six months away.

And we decided to cut
everything out

and start from scratch.

So right now, we're creating
a brand-new choreography.

: Oh!
- That's so cool.

- Super cool.

: This year,
we worked with Xin,

a completely different
choreographer

than what we normally
work with.

She was amazing.

I don't think any of us
really expected

what was going to happen.

And she said, "Okay,
I want you to be a tree."

So we all do it and then,
we pick it together.

In the end,

the entire routine we created

was based on all the little
things that we had done on land,
in the water.

And it's all ours.

- I think it's a good idea.

Because acting is all about
the focus,

concentration, the presence.

So exercise to make you
more present on stage,

to listen to what's happening
to your partners.

- Right.
- Confidence and trust.

: So we'll begin
just by some exercises

for the face, okay?

We'll begin by the eyebrows,
frowning.

Relax.

Widen.

Like this.

Relax. Yeah. We look stupid
when we do that, you know.

And then, we're gonna expand
nostrils. Okay?

Yeah, you're good at that.

: The first time
we met Sébastien,

it was a little bit awkward

because I think we're too used
to being synchronized swimmers,

so it was weird, it was getting
out of the box quite a bit.

- Feel your face.

Okay. Relax.

It's okay.

Move everything.

You are really, really
surprised.

: Concentrate
on every step you make.

Don't go too fast.

Yeah. You're really concentrate.

Okay, go back to the wall.

So we're gonna do
the pride thing again.

So you really want to be there,

but your body is really,
really slow.

But you really want to be there.
And when you arrive,

you open your arms. Okay?

: Sébastien really
taught us

how to do a simple movement
with purpose.

So just simply walking
with pride.

It's a completely different
experience,

it's an emotion from within
into a physical movement.

It's not the physical movement
with an emotion added on.

: Stay there
a little while, breathe in that.

And thank you.

* Happy birthday to you

- Oh, my God.

* Happy birthday to you

* Happy birthday dear Marie-Lou

Happy birthday to you *

- Thank you.

And well, with that,
I brought you guys cookies.

- Yeah.
- Because it's--

- Yes, it's very sweet.

- So it's for my birthday,

but also because
I miss you guys and I know
you are working hard.

And, I'm gonna cry, so here,
take a cookie.

- Happy birthday, Lou.

- I miss you. I love you.
- I love you too.

- Hang in there,
I'm coming back soon.

- Okay, that sounds good.

Okay.

- Oh! That's so cool.

- Here's my little surprise.

So it's for the 5 months
that we have left,

since it's October. Okay?

So each month, we'll have
a countdown

and it's all of the days
of the month.

So today is the first.

So Marie-Lou, do you wanna rip
one off?

- Ah!
- Yeah, do it.

So it'll grow
as we rip them off,

the colours will grow
for each month.

Until we finish...
at the qualifier.

- Bravo!

Really good.

- Bye, guys.

- Happy birthday! We love you!

- What would be
your top three things

you'd like to work on
until the qualifiers?

- Less stressed.

Does that count

- Yes, if it's about food,
it counts.

So less stress about food.
- Mm-hmm.

- So what's the stress
about food?

- Well...

Like...

I don't want to think
about what I'm eating.

- Let's say you buy a croissant.
What happens?

- Accept myself.

- Exactly. Eat it, you enjoy,
it's once a month and that's it.

- Yeah.
- So that's part of life.

- Okay, sounds good.

: Obviously, weight is
a big part of our sport.

Having a clear goal
in the department

of your body type, body image,
is very important for us.

So we get weighed
about every three weeks

and do the body-fat testing
in the BOD POD.

I mean, it's just about being
happy with the way you are

and understanding that
what you're doing, weight-wise,

is for the sport, not because
you need to look...

skinnier in real life.

I think a lot of us, you know,
take it a little bit personally,

and it's hard,
especially as a girl;

we're always gonna be struggling
with our weight, no matter what.

And I struggled
for a very long time,

trying to figure out
what it actually meant

to lose weight for my sport,

instead of losing weight
because:

"Oh, my God,
they think I'm fat."

- Okay, shoulder-width: 43.

- It's been about a year

that I've been diagnosed
with an eating disorder.

And, yes, I've been seeing
people, experts

and stuff like that. And...

Sorry, I didn't wanna cry.

Sorry, guys, I really did not
plan on crying.

It's not supposed
to be emotional.

Like, it's not about me,
it's just...

synchro is hard for that,
and some people get more
affected than others.

And for me, it's been going on
for a lot of years.

So just make sure that if you
need help, go get it right now.

Don't wait a lot of years,

because then it just
brings you to bad places.

So that's what I wanted
to tell you.

Just... If you need help,
go get it now.

Like... yeah.

Have a nice break.

- Ah, I love you.

(counting rhythmically
in French)

- Okay, let's try that again.

Okay, what we'll do now

is that we're gonna repeat
that section five times. Okay?

And try, each time you do it,

to exaggerate this feeling of
strength that you have. Okay?

Yes.

- The choreography you are doing

is a line-up of movements
making sense.

Even if you are synchronized,
it doesn't mean you're robots.

: Ah!

You are a group of human beings
sharing a moment
with an audience.

: Ah!

- Make sure the amount of work
that we put in every single day,

it's to take... like,
it's a stepping stone,

like a little building block
on our little Lego house

to eventually going
to the Olympics.

So let's keep it up,

don't worry about anything
negative today.

We've got it.

- Yeah.

- One, two, three.

Ah-ha!
- One month.

- Yay!

: Feel like...
really hold every count.

More angry here
and especially here, like,

I know we're breathing,
but you go, argh.

I'm taking my breath and
with a super good highlight.

And that highlight really
needs to...

We're missing a bit of power.

But it's the second time
we're doing it, so...

Follow through with power.
Let's go.

One, two, three.
: All in, all out!

- Yeah.
- Yes.

Let's do it!

: We've come from
a phase

where we needed the time
to rebuild everything,

and I think, personally,

it took me a long time
to get to that point.

I really needed the time to say,
"Okay, what if we don't make it?

What happens then? What
am I gonna do with my life?"

And I really needed the time
to struggle with that,

and to rebuild my belief
in my sport, as well as,

you know, my everyday training.

I go to the pool for seven
to 12 hours a day,

and what am I doing it for?

- Okay, and you have like,

before the last look
that you did there,

like, something from somewhere
else and then you come back.

Okay. Really precise.

Like, I take energy
to put it on her. Okay?

- So until two.

Ready?

: You have
everything, all the package.
Look at those bodies.

Look at those... everything.
So just show off.

- I think we can all feel it.

We want this to be
a super good one.

It's our last simulation here.

And after that, we get to Brazil
and it's like, "Boom, show on!"

One, two, three.

- Good job, good job!

: Honestly,
I think we're the underdogs.

I think that people
don't expect much of us.

I mean, no one is expecting
Canada to change anything,

to be different than
what we've been in the past.

You know, you should be
a little bit afraid of us.

Like, we're coming from behind
and we're gonna get you.

: It's make it
or break it right now.

We need to make top three

and it really depends
on whether they want us there,

at this point.

We can't control the marks.
We can't control the judges.

So as long as we have
our best swim,

I think we should be proud.

: We're not perfect,
and we might never be

because we're all so different.

And with the way we want to push
this sport currently,

we will never be perfect.

But it can be our goal forever,

even if it's absurd,
even if it's impossible

because it's been our dream
it's been my dream,

since the beginning
of our career.

And there's no way
we can give up on that.

The last six months,
we tried everything.

We did everything to make it
possible to achieve perfection.

Maybe we will never see
this sport evolve

so that it becomes
more objective and more fair.

And maybe we won't even
make it to Rio.

But today, the only thing
we really can do is

swim together like we've never
done it before,

with the hope of being perfect.