WORLD CLASS SYNCHRO SHOWCASED IN GLOUCESTER
World silver medallists Gemma Mengual and Andrea Fuentes
stole the show with their impressive new Technical Duet routine
at the British Synchronised Swimming Championships.
The Spanish pairing took to the water and showcased the Spanish
style of synchro to the British crowd. The girls were commended
for the entire routine including their excellent vertical
splits and height out of the water.
As they finished the crowd erupted into rapturous applause
as they showed their appreciation for the world-class synchro.
They scored between 9.5 - 9.9 to take the lead, as guests,
with 97.500 points going into tomorrow, where they will perform
their Free Solo.
"I really enjoyed that swim," Mengual said. "It
was good fun. It is a new routine and we were testing the
music and choreography and it was great to hear the audience
getting so involved. The audience was great and it is an excellent
facility - the water was perfect for synchronised swimming.
"Our focus is on Olympic qualification and we want to
finish in the top two at Beijing next year, we have some tough
competition but we are feeling good with our routines."
The Isreal Duet showed their class with their speed through
the water and the difficult content of the programme. They
scored in the high eights and nines to secure 88.333 points
to look in a strong place for the Free event tomorrow.
Jenna Randall (19) and Olivia Allison (17), representing
Great Britain and Rushmoor, came out and performed their new
Technical Duet routine and enjoyed the crowd's encouragement.
The girls have been working at the High Performance Centre
in Aldershot since the beginning of the year and have shown
significant signs of improvement in their synchro. The girls
scored high eights to take the lead, as British competitors,
with 86.334 points in the Technical Duet.
"I know we can perform that routine better than we did
today," Randall said. "It was the first time we
have used it in a competition environment and it felt good
to get such a great response from the audience. I used to
get really nervous about competitions but having worked with
Biz [Price] at the High Performance Centre I am more composed
about going out to compete now."
Earlier in the day Randall took to the water in the Technical
Solo to claim gold and prove her place as Britain's top synchronised
swimmer.
Randall was drawn late in the Technical Solo but shone through
to take the top spot with 86.167 points almost ten points
ahead of her nearest competitor. Her routine included difficult
boosts and vertical splits but Randall showed that her hard
work at the Army Barracks has paid off with scores in the
high eights - a marked improvement on last year's scores.
"I was really pleased with the scores," Randall
said. "They are creeping up and I am happy with the improvement
from last year but I really want to break into the nines.
We have been working on my execution more as we know this
will lead to better marks.
"My thrusts and vertical splits are good but we have
been working on my strength to improve them even more. I have
had good feedback from my coach but there are still bits I
need to work on to be where I want to be on a world scale."
Olivia Allison (Rushmoor) performed her solo for the first
time this year and has spent three months preparing for the
event. The 17-year-old showed her strength in the water with
increased height in her boosts and took the silver with 78.000
points.
"I have been working on my solo routine for about three
months now," she said. "Solo gives you the chance
to showcase your best elements. I was pleased with the way
I performed but I know I have bits to work on to progress
and get even better scores. I didn't perform the solo last
year so it was good to take perform this year."
World Championship squad member Lauren Smith (Rushmoor) took
the bronze medal with x points.
The closest fought event in the ASA National Age Groups was
the 17 and under Free Combination where Gateshead put in an
excellent performance and took gold with 65.833 points beating
Reading Royals by only two points.
Gateshead coach Gayle Adamson stated: "I was very pleased
with their performance today. They were really confident with
the routine and it is the best presentation of the routine
I have seen them do. We have some under 12s in our team and
they were a little nervous as we were preparing but they were
incredibly composed during the performance. The team's attention
to their corrections was excellent and for me the performance
factor was the best part."
Results:
Figures:
12 & under
Gold: Katie King (City of Birmingham)
Silver: Caitlin Ahern (Portsmouth Victoria)
Bronze: Eleanor Holder (Walsall)
13 & 14 Age Group
Gold: Cherry Wilson (Rushmoor)
Silver: Katie Clark (Reading Royals)
Bronze: Anya Tarasuik (Bristol Central)
15, 16 & 17 Age Group
Gold: Asha Randall (Rushmoor)
Silver: Emily Kuhl (Rushmoor)
Bronze: Lisa Marsh (Bristol Central)
18 & 19 Age Group
Gold: Jenny Godding (Reading Royals)
Silver: Sarah Speers (Pudsey Pearls)
Bronze: Bethany Dearlove (Reading Royals)
19 & under Combinations (Recreational)
Gold: Portsmouth Victoria
Silver: City of Birmingham
Bronze: Reading Royals
British Championships Technical Solo
Gold: Jenna Randall (Rushmoor)
Silver: Olivia Allison (Rushmoor)
Bronze: Lauren Smith (Rushmoor)
13 & 14 Free Duets
Gold: Kristina Holley/Katie Clark (Reading Royals)
Silver: Anya Tarasiuk/Alexandra O'Mahony (Bristol Central)
Bronze: Robyn Bignell/Nicola David (Rushmoor)
15/16/17 years Free Combinations
Gold: Rushmoor
Silver: Trafford
Bronze: Bristol Central
17 & Under Free Combination
Gold: Gateshead
Silver: Reading Royals
The British Synchronised Swimming Championships and ASA National
Age Groups 2007 run from 1st- 2nd December at the Gloucester
Leisure Centre (GL1), Gloucester.
|
