SYNCHRO TRIO READY TO LAY DOWN WORLD MARKER
Britain's push towards synchronised swimming success at the
London 2012 Olympics will gather pace in Melbourne this week
when three talented young athletes represent their nation
at a World Championships for the first time in nearly 10 years.
Teenagers Olivia Allison, Jenna Randall and Lauren Smith,
who all compete for the Rushmoor club, will provide British
Synchronised Swimming National Performance Director Biz Price
with a clear indication of where they are in their bid to
be among the higher echelons of the sport in time for 2012.
Without exception, it's the toughest competition of their
lives to date but it's an environment they will become familiar
with between now and the London Olympics and this is something
they're excited about experiencing for the very first time.
Amid the noise, heat and confusion generated by the Melbourne
F1 Grand Prix, the world's leading synchronised swimmers will
produce a show of power, speed and manoeuvrability of their
own at the Albert Park aquatic centre - requiring unparalleled
levels of strength and stamina.
For Price, who joined British Synchronised Swimming in January,
the World Championships have come at a perfect time to measure
the improvements of her squad gained from an intensive two-and-a-half
months of increasing the athletes' abilities in time to meet
the rest of the world
"Jenna, Olivia and Lauren have worked tirelessly since
January 1st to be here in Melbourne on the eve of the biggest
event of their lives," said Price.
"They've never competed in a competition like this before
against older and more experienced athletes. It's going to
be a great learning process for them and one that will serve
them well in the future.
"We just don't know where they rank at the moment. It's
all been about guessing until they get in to compete on the
world stage. This competition and their performance will provide
a clear picture of where we are and what we need to do to
move through the rankings."
Not only will the World Championships provide the perfect
chance to plot the athletes' future development, it also gives
them an opportunity to place themselves within the FINA world
rankings which is vital if they are to achieve the aim of
qualifying for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
"We're trying to qualify the girls for the 2008 Olympics
rankings," explained Price. "Our aim is to put them
in the top 24 but we're hoping to get inside the top 22 although
it's a big ask for a group of first time athletes in this
type of arena.
"The World Championships won't qualify them for Beijing
but it will give us our first standing on which to build as
we go through the process of trying to secure Olympic qualification
for Britain.
"The last time Britain was involved in a World Championships
was back in 1998 and we need to get on the scoreboard to give
ourselves a ranking - a starting point from which to build
and improve."
Melbourne won't provide qualification for the 2008 Olympics
but it will enable a strategy to be drawn and implemented
with Beijing as the clear objective.
"The next step for the girls will be a qualification
meet in Beijing of April of next year and they will have to
finish top 24 in that to secure a spot," said Price.
"We've got a lot of work to do between now and then but
they've worked tirelessly to put themselves in with a chance
since the start of the year and we're going to see that in
Melbourne from Saturday.
"I'm hoping that by April of next year they will be
inside the top 20 given the level of improvements we've seen
so far. They have the potential and they could even rank as
high as 16th but it's going to take a great deal of effort
and support to deliver that.
Britain will be in action from day one of the World Championships
(Saturday 17th) in the solo and duet events.
And this World Championships will be different because in
each event the technical and free aspects will be final in
their own right with medals being awarded to winners of both
aspects rather than combining them to give an overall position.
"It's a little bit of a complication to see where the
girls will rank in the world and we'll have some serious calculations
to do," explained Price. "The added difficulty will
be if nations decide to put, for example, one duet team into
the technical and another into the free element."
But Price is confident, if they can hold their nerve at the
first time of asking, the British girls will do themselves
justice given the levels of commitment and hard work displayed
since her arrival.
"The girls are looking really good and have already
had a lot of positive feedback from other nations around the
training pool who've seen their improvements already,"
said Price.
"These differences have been noticed by other nations
but now we have to make sure they're noticed by the judges
when the competition starts.
"They're feeling really positive about the whole environment.
They've had some intensive preparation in Canada and here
in Melbourne leading into the competition, and to be sharing
the same water as the world champions and other leading nations
is having a really good effect on the girls. We're looking
to the competition starting now."
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