China's synchro mentor eyes gold in London

SHANGHAI - After turning the Beijing Olympic Games' bronze medal into a silver at the World Championships here, Chinese synchronized swimming team's coach, Masayo Imura, is now aiming to upgrade the medal's color again at the London Olympics next year.

"Now, I can finally say I want to change the color to gold at next year's London Olympic Games," Imura said through an interpreter after the Chinese squad claimed its third silver medal in the discipline of technical teams at the 14th FINA World Championships on Tuesday.

"Before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, I said we should try to win at least a medal at home. After we won a bronze, I wanted to change it to the silver. I am happy we achieved that goal at the Shanghai worlds, and now it's time to reach an even higher level," said Imura, who is called the "mother of synchro swimming" in China.