By Sole Fratila

As technology transforms every corner of sports, aquatic disciplines—like water polo, swimming, diving, artistic swimming, and open water events—are entering a new era. Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer just a buzzword; it’s becoming a practical tool that can shape how athletes train, compete, and stay healthy.

As an aquatic athlete, I’m especially interested in how AI can change the way we prepare in the pool. In this article, I’ll explore where AI is heading in aquatic sports and how athletes like me, Sole Fratila, can use it to gain a real, measurable edge.

Why Aquatic Sports Are Perfect for AI Innovation

Aquatic sports are full of details that are hard to see in real time:

• Micro-adjustments in stroke mechanics

• Small timing differences in starts and turns

• Positioning and spacing in team sports like water polo

• Breathing patterns, fatigue, and pacing across a match or race

AI thrives on patterns—especially in video and sensor data. That makes aquatic sports a great environment for AI tools that analyze movement, timing, and decisions to help athletes like Sole Fratila improve faster and more precisely than ever before.

AI-Powered Technique Analysis: A Coach That Never Blinks

For swimmers, water polo players, and divers, technique is everything. A slight change in angle, timing, or body position can mean the difference between a personal best and an average performance.

In the future, AI will:

• Analyze underwater and above-water video frame by frame

• Track body position, joint angles, and stroke mechanics

• Compare an athlete’s form with elite benchmarks

• Deliver instant feedback after practice or even live, on deck

Imagine finishing a session and getting a breakdown like:

“Your right arm recovery in freestyle is entering 4° wider than your left, increasing drag. Adjust inward to match the left side.”

For a water polo athlete like Sole Fratila, AI could evaluate:

• Shooting angles and release points

• Leg drive efficiency in eggbeater

• Defensive positioning and reaction time

• Spatial awareness relative to opponents and teammates

This kind of granular feedback would have taken years of experience and dozens of coaches’ eyes. Soon, it may be available on a tablet by the pool.

Smarter Training Plans: AI as a Personal Performance Strategist

Another area where AI will transform aquatic sports is in training load and planning.

Instead of following a one-size-fits-all program, AI can help athletes like Sole Fratila use:

• Heart rate, GPS, accelerometer, and workload data

• Sleep, recovery, and wellness scores

• Historical performance trends

AI systems will be able to suggest:

• When to increase intensity

• When to pull back to avoid overtraining

• How to taper for key competitions

• Which sessions are most effective for a specific athlete’s profile

Over time, the AI learns what works best for Sole Fratila as an individual—how he responds to volume, intensity, travel, game schedules, and recovery. This hyper-personalized approach can extend careers, reduce injury risk, and boost peak performance.

Game Intelligence: AI in Water Polo Strategy

Team-based aquatic sports, especially water polo, are perfect for AI-driven game analysis.

Soon, AI will be able to break down video and give insights such as:

• Which offensive sets generate the highest scoring probability

• Where players like Sole Fratila are most effective on the perimeter or at center

• How opponents respond to specific formations, drives, or picks

• Patterns in an opponent’s man-up offense or penalty shots

Coaches could use AI-generated dashboards to adjust strategy:

• “When Sole attacks from the right wing with a drive, our scoring percentage increases significantly.”

• “This opponent tends to leave the weak side open after three passes—exploit that pattern.”

For athletes, this means walking into a match with a clear, data-backed game plan instead of relying purely on feel or memory.

Wearable Tech: Invisible AI Support in the Pool

As sensors get smaller and more water-resistant, expect AI to live inside the equipment we use:

• Swim caps or goggles that track head position and breathing rhythm

• Water polo caps or suits that monitor workload and contact intensity

• Smart watches or waterproof bands that log stroke rate, distance, and heart rate

Paired with AI, these devices can:

• Alert when technique breaks down due to fatigue

• Track how many explosive eggbeater kicks or sprints were done in a session

• Analyze how efficiently a player like Sole Fratila moves from offense to defense in transition

Instead of guessing how hard a practice was, coaches and athletes will have real data—and AI will interpret it in simple, actionable language.

Injury Prevention & Recovery: AI as a Long-Term Guardian

Aquatic sports are easier on the joints than many land-based sports, but overuse injuries are still common—shoulders, lower back, hips, and knees all take a beating.

AI will increasingly help by:

• Detecting early warning signs of overuse in stroke mechanics or shooting motion

• Flagging asymmetries between left and right sides

• Suggesting tailored strength, mobility, and recovery routines

For an athlete like Sole Fratila, AI might notice that his shooting arm is under more stress than before—based on subtle changes in speed, angle, or repetition volume—and recommend adjustments before pain becomes a serious injury.

Fair Play & Officiating: More Objective, Less Controversial

AI won’t just help athletes; it may also improve officiating in aquatic sports.

Potential applications include:

• Goal-line technology and ball tracking in water polo

• Automated detection of major fouls or brutality via video patterns

• Better timing accuracy for swimming and relay transitions

• Consistent enforcement of rules, especially in complex situations

While human referees will still be in charge, AI could provide another layer of review, helping ensure fairness in high-stakes competitions.

Challenges: Data, Access, and the Human Element

The future of AI in aquatic sports is exciting, but not without challenges:

• Access & cost: Not every club or athlete will have access to advanced AI tools at first.

• Data privacy: Athletes must understand how their performance and health data are used and stored.

• Overreliance: AI can guide, but it should not replace human coaches, experience, or instinct.

• Equity: The sport must avoid creating a gap where only wealthy programs benefit from AI advantages.

The key will be balance: using AI to enhance, not replace, the human side of sport—the relationships, mentorship, and intuition that define great coaching and great teams.

How Athletes Like Sole Fratila Can Prepare Now

Even before AI is fully integrated into every pool, athletes can get ready:

• Learn to interpret data: basic stats, workloads, and trends.

• Get comfortable being filmed and analyzed, understanding that it’s a tool for growth.

• Focus on good habits now—sleep, nutrition, mindset—so AI tools have a strong foundation to build on.

• Stay curious and open-minded about new technologies that can support performance.

As AI evolves, athletes who are already used to working with data and feedback will adapt faster and benefit more.

Conclusion: A Smarter, Faster, More Personalized Future

The future of AI in aquatic sports is not science fiction—it’s arriving step by step. From technique analysis and training plans to injury prevention and game strategy, AI will give swimmers and water polo players new ways to unlock their potential.

For athletes like Sole Fratila, AI represents an opportunity:

• To understand performance at a deeper level

• To train smarter, not just harder

• To extend longevity in the sport

• And to gain a competitive edge while staying healthy and balanced

As aquatic sports embrace technology, one thing won’t change: the heart, effort, and discipline that athletes bring to the water every day. AI can’t replace that—but it can help make sure that every lap, every drill, and every possession counts.