SYNCHRO TEAM END WORLD EXPERIENCE WITH EXCELLENCE
Britain's young synchronised swimmers finished off their
first World Championships with a display that drew scores
of "excellence" from those judging the Duet Free
Routine.
Olivia Allison and Jenna Randall (Rushmoor) were early into
the Rod Laver pool for the preliminary competition but coped
with the draw to post their first international score of nine.
It proved to be a perfect way to finish off what has been
a great experience for the developing team given the fact
they have only been training full time towards their 2008
and 2012 Olympic dreams since the turn of the year.
The girls followed up their ranking of 20th in the Duet Technical
on day one of the World Championships in Melbourne with another
20th placing in the Free on day five to exceed the expectations
set before the meet.
And for Randall, the teenager showed her individual promise
with a 16th and 17th place respectively in the Solo Free and
Technical and day two and day three.
"We're pleased with that, in fact I'm pleased with the
entire week," said British National Performance Director
Biz Price. "The girls have done a great job this week
and have showed there are a rising force within the synchro
world.
"Today, certain areas could have been slightly better
but it was nothing major and showed improvements the girls
have made over the past three months. Their preparation has
been spot on and I wouldn't change a thing at this stage."
The first international score of nine from the judges moves
the girls from "very good" into the "excellent"
category and this is exactly where Price wanted the girls
to be after spending the past three months working intensively
with them.
"That's where we need to be and that's our aim. We're
now stepping into a different class," explained Price.
"They've come on so much since January, other nations
are commenting, the judges have noticed and the girls themselves
have taken confidence from their preparation.
"We won't be resting though, we need to keep this momentum
going forward. We will be aiming high with a Beijing Olympics
qualification our main focus now.
"I know the girls had nothing left in the tank at the
end of their routine and that's all I can ask for. They gave
it everything today as they have done all year."
For the athletes themselves the World Championships have
provided valuable experience and they've gained confidence
from the knowledge they can compete on the world stage while
earning a reputation with the international judges,
"We received our first nine score today and that's pretty
impressive at this stage of our development," said Allison.
"We're very pleased with the score and it's put us higher
than we expected.
"We came into the World Championships looking for top
22 finishes but that performance has seen us go above that
so it shows the gains we're making."
Team mate Randall has been involved in all of Britain's appearances
in the pool this week and it's something she is looking forward
to continuing over the next five years before the London 2012
Olympics.
"I think its by far our best competition as a duet,"
said Randall. "Now we're training and living together
it's enabled us to grow as a duet and the result was there
to see this morning.
"We've been able to concentrate on other areas to improve
as our fitness has come on a lot since January. We can focus
on our corrections rather than how tired we feel which is
what has happened in the past.
"The fitness has been the biggest gain for us. We've
taken big strides over the past three months but there's more
to come and we're excited about developing as a duet even
further."
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