Team USA artistic swimmers' silver-winning moonwalk underwater is a treat for Michael Jackson fans

Every Olympic season, the world not only eagerly anticipates their nation's victories in the games but is also awestruck by the wonders the Olympians create. It's a well-known fact that the fitness and endurance levels of Olympic athletes are incomparable. When it comes to artistic swimming events, it gets much more challenging as the swimmers must also excel in their acrobatic skills. In this year's Paris Olympics, Team USA's artistic swimmers gave a marvelous and entertaining performance recreating the famous Michael Jackson moonwalk while grooving underwater to "Smooth Criminal," reports Today.

While not many can ace the moonwalk when standing upright, these swimmers slayed it while they were floating upside down with the upper half of their bodies immersed in water. This "Smooth Criminal" performance was part of the technical routine set and the moonwalk, in particular, left the internet gobsmacked. An X user who goes by @fvsbrait captured the moonwalk telecasted by Sportv Sinal Extra and the 22-second video shows how Team USA flawlessly performed the hook step while holding their breaths underwater. Several fast-paced movements synchronizing with the song's peppy beat followed and it sure wasn't as effortless as it looked. 

Over 9.4 million views poured in for this clipping on X in just four days. "I tried but couldn’t moonwalk standing normally. How come they do it upside down and that too in water?" said @Miksiddiqui. "The cool thing about this is that when you rotate the screen to face-on the scene, it becomes even cooler," remarked @Aaronbarbudao. "I don't follow, but bro, 20 seconds doing a handstand underwater without tipping over and still doing the steps, that's tense," added @o_nulo. 

This stellar Michael Jackson routine scored a silver medal for Team USA in the Olympics this year while the Chinese team took home the gold. It's a special win for the nation because it was the first time in 20 years that the artistic swimming team from the USA has won an Olympic medal. "It feels incredible. I mean, this is everything to us," swimmer Daniela Ramirez of Team USA told the news channel. "It took two years of hard work, a lot of trust between the teammates and Dani, my base, a lot of help from her. So, just a lot of hard work really paid off," added swimmer Audrey Kwon.

The team honed their underwater moonwalk skills for over three years, resulting in an iconic win. "Our head coach Andrea Fontes always is looking to do something creative in the sport and do something unique that's going to stand out. So when we were doing Michael Jackson, we were like, 'We got to put the moonwalk in there somewhere,'" Team USA's Keana Hunter told USA Today. It wasn't an easy win because the athletes had to train eight hours a day, perfecting the synchronized movements. Apart from becoming an internet sensation, the team also got a shout-out from one of the coolest celebrities. "Snoop Dog shouted us out. He was really proud of our moonwalk so that was pretty cool," Ramirez added.