 Anastasias plan for double delight
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-23 10:32
Russia is chasing its second synchronized swimming gold medal of the Beijing Games today. The two-day team event began yesterday at the National Aquatics Center when eight countries performed technical routines ahead of today's free routines. Russian duo Anastasia Ermakova and Anastasia Davydova won gold in the duet competition on Wednesday. They take their place in the eight-strong team that has been creating new routines behind closed doors and which has not competed since the Melbourne 2007 World Championships. Russia has dominated the team event throughout the last decade. It has won gold at the past two Olympic Games and the past five World Championships. The team prides itself on precision and power, and is able to perform throws and lifts beyond the capabilities of other teams. Characterized by their creativity, Spain dethroned Russia in the team event at the 2007 FINA World Trophy Cup. The Spaniards won their first Olympic synchronized swimming medal when Gemma Mengual and Andrea Fuentes claimed silver in the duet on Wednesday. Japan won silver behind Russia at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and in Athens, too. The Japanese team is known for its consistency, having won a medal in synchronized swimming at every Olympic Games without ever taking gold. In Wednesday's duet final, Japan nudged China out of third place. China finished sixth in Athens in 2004 but has improved considerably since acquiring the services of legendary coach Imura Masayo of Japan two years ago. China's twin sisters, Jiang Tingting and Jiang Wenwen, finished fourth in the duet on Wednesday. US coach Tammy McGregor, who won gold in this event at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, has promised her team's innovative routines will contain a number of moves never before seen. Agencies (China Daily 08/23/2008 page23) |
