It is as much a sport as track is, and neither require hitting balls or physical assault!

[He frowns a bit more.] Neither of those sports are beautiful. There's a certain gift that swimmers have to accentuate their forms to be the most flattering, both in aesthetics and in prowess. Track as well. They're more refined, in any case.

[tl;dr: Rei's a big ol' prettyboy]