The women's duet synchronized swimming event at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held from August 18 to 20, at the Beijing National Aquatics Center.
A total of 24 duets, each composed of two swimmers, competed in the event, which consisted of two rounds. The preliminary round included both a technical routine and a free routine. Finalists then performed a second free routine, with their score combined with the preliminary technical routine score to determine the final standings.
The technical routine required the execution of ten prescribed elements in a specific order, within a time limit of 2 minutes and 5 seconds to 2 minutes and 35 seconds. The free routine, by contrast, allowed greater flexibility in content but had to be performed within a duration of 3 minutes and 15 seconds to 3 minutes and 45 seconds.
Each routine was evaluated by two panels of five judges: one for technical merit and another for artistic impression. Judges awarded scores ranging from 0 to 10. For each panel, the highest and lowest scores were discarded, and the remaining scores were summed to produce the routineâÂÂs total. The combined scores of the routines determined the final result for each duet.