Five Olympic Duets Compete at Synchro America Open

duet-finals-synchro-swimming-pan-american-games-2015 (34)

Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports Images

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Five 2016 Olympic synchronized swimming duets completed their final competition before the Rio Games on Saturday night at the star-studded Synchro America Open.

Olympic silver medalists Ona Carbonell and Gemma Mengual won the senior duet free final at Riverside City College, finishing with 93.5500 points. Wen Wen Jiang and Ting Ting Jiang of Sichuan (China) took second with 91.7000 points, and Canada’s Jacqueline Simoneau and Karine Thomas, another 2016 Olympic duet, finished third at 90.0500.

China’s Liuyi Wang and Qianyi Wang finished fourth with 88.9000 points, and Team USA’s Anita Alvarez and Mariya Koroleva were fifth at 88.0500, ahead of two more Olympic duets: Great Britain’s Katie Clark and Olivia Federici (85.6500) and Argentina’s Etel Sanchez and Sofia Sanchez (82.8500).

Quebec’s Ioana Gheta won the senior free solo final with 79.9500 points. She was followed by Paineiras’ Sabrine Lowy (77.5500) and Quebec’s Brooke Brimo (76.4500).

Spain’s Berta Ferreras and Pau Ribes were the lone competitors in the senior mixed duet final, scoring 83.0000 points.

Spain also won gold in the senior free team final by scoring 88.8000 points, edging Sichuan (China), which finished at 88.7500. Paineiras was third with 78.6000 points.

In the junior team free final, Quebec finished on top with 77.6500 points, ahead of Ontario (76.6000), Ohio Coralinas Synchro (62.9500) and San Dieguto Synchro (62.1000).

The day’s activities also included an autograph session with the Olympic duets; demonstrations from a local dance school, Room To Dance; street performers; a water ball and diving exhibition; and a solo performance by Virginie Dedieu, a three-time world champion in solo and a bronze medalist in duet at the 2000 Olympic Games.

Friday’s results
Emily Anger of the Santa Clara Aquamaids won the junior solo final on Friday, finishing with 148.7762 total points. Quebec Canada’s Maria Gheta won silver with 145.4613 points, and Alexandra Auarez earned bronze with 143.7167 points.
In the junior duet, Claire Hyon and Subin Cho from the La Mirada Aquabelles took gold with 147.2640 points, followed by two Ontario duets: Meaghan Ozikizler and Sabrina Barnes (144.8863), and Catherine Barrett andKristin Stremlaw (144.1066).
Mexico’s Joanna Jimenez led the senior solo technical event Friday, scoring 81.0434 points, followed by Quebec’sIoana Gheta (73.5364) and Wenjing Deng of Ohio Coralinas Synchro (71.1537).

Thursday’s results
On Thursday, Spain’s Carbonell and Mengual finished first in duet tech, scoring 90.6439 points. Wen Wen Jiang and Ting Ting Jiang of China were second (88.9850), and Canada’s Simoneau and homas were third (87.3183). China’s Liuyi Wang and Qianyi Wang finished fourth (85.9447), followed by Team USA’s Alvarez (Kenmore, N.Y.) and Koroleva (Concord, Calif.), who scored 84.5630 points.
The two other 2016 Olympic duets were sixth and seventh: Great Britain’s Clark and Federici (78.9715 points) and Argentina’s Etel Sanchez and Sofia Sanchez (78.8679).
Also Thursday, China’s Sichuan finished first in team technical with 86.5695 points, followed by Spain (85.2119) and Mexico (83.4863).
The synchronized swimming competition at the Rio Olympic Games begins on Aug. 14.

About the 2016 Olympic duets at the Synchro America Open:

* Anita Alvarez and Mariya Koroleva, U.S.
Alvarez and Koroleva have had a stellar 2016 season, having won gold and silver medals at the China Open and bronze medals at the German and French opens. They earned their spot in the 2016 Games by finishing seventh at the Olympic Games Qualification Tournament in Rio in March. This will be Alvarez’ Olympic debut, while Koroleva will be making her second appearance at the Games.

* Ona Carbonell and Gemma Mengual, Spain
Carbonell won silver in duet and bronze in team at the 2012 Olympics, has competed in multiple World and European Championships and has won more than 80 medals during her synchro career. Mengual, who earned silver medals in duet and team at the 2008 Olympics and also competed at the 2000 Games and 2004 Games, is coming out of retirement at age 39 to compete with Carbonell in Rio.

* Jacqueline Simoneau and Karine Thomas, Canada
Simoneau and Thomas won gold medals in duet and team at the 2015 Pan Am Games. Before that, Simoneau won figures and finished second in solo at the 2014 Junior World Championships. Thomas, who has been on the Canadian National Team for 10 years, will be making her second Olympic appearance.

* Katie Clark and Olivia Federici, Great Britain
The duo both competed at the 2012 Games. Clark has taken part in several World and European Championships and came out of retirement last year. This will be Federici’s third Olympics; she won a silver medal in duet at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and also competed at numerous World and European Championships in her career.

* Etel Sanchez and Sofia Sanchez, Argentina
The twin sisters have swum together for a while, including at the 2012 London Olympics. They competed at the past four World Championships and at the 2015 Pan Am Games.

Other notable competitors: China’s Wen Wen Jiang and Ting Ting Jiang, twin sisters who won silver medals in team at the 2012 and 2008 Olympics; China’s National Team duet of Liuyi Wang and Qianyi Wang, twin sisters who won bronze at the 2014 Junior World Championships; Spain’s National Team, which won bronze medals at the 2016 European Championships; Mexico’s National Team, silver medalists at the 2015 Pan Am Games; the Brazil Paineiras Synchro Club; China Sichuan Provincial Team; Ontario Training Center Team; and Quebec Provincial Team.

For full results from the Synchro America Open, go to http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Synchronized-Swimming/Events/2016/July/14/2016-Synchro-America-Open.

For more information on USA Synchro, visit http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Synchronized-Swimming.aspx, facebook.com/usasynchro and @usasynchro

USA Synchro contributed this report.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use