The 2019 FINA Artistic Swimming World Series initiated in March in France. Since Paris, the best athletes in the world of Artistic Swimming have competed in Greece, Russia, Japan, and China. Tomorrow, 62 athletes representing 10 countries, will start the 6th leg of the ASWS in the beautiful Greensboro Aquatic Center, in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA.<\/p>\n
Although this is the first FINA event that the Greensboro Aquatic Center hosts, the Organizing Committee is prepared and ready to make this leg a success. The facility is spectacular.<\/p>\n
As Lisa Schott<\/strong>, FINA Technical Delegate and Artistic Swimming Technical Committee Chairperson, expressed in her welcome speech during the Technical meeting:<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u201cI want to say what a great facility this is, congratulations, I go around the world, and I am impressed, it takes a lot to impress me, it is beautiful\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n This 6th leg of the series is the first one on the American Continent, followed next week by the 7th leg in Quebec City, Canada. Following Canada, the series will have 1 more leg in Barcelona, and then finishes up with a Super Final in Budapest.<\/p>\n According to Schott, the series \u201chas seen a huge growth in participation\u201d in each of the legs.<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u201cOverall, I think, the Artistic Swimming community has engaged and embraced the opportunity to showcase the sport all around the world. We are getting more media attention. I have seen countries like, Ukraine, like Hungary, who have gone out and participated in the series, and I have watched their marks go up in the last two\u00a0seasons.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n While the participation is a little less than previous series in Europe and Asia, the Americas are represented by Argentina, Canada, Colombia, El Salvador, Peru and the USA, the 4 other countries participating are Hungary, Japan, Kazakhstan and Singapore. For El Salvador, Peru and the USA this is their first participation in the ASWS.<\/p>\n The program in Greensboro starts on Friday with the Duet and Mixed Duet Free Routines. There will be 11 Duet routines, including Japan and Canada. Japan\u2019s Yukiko Inui<\/strong> and Megumu Yoshida<\/strong> have won silver medals in this event in Paris and in the 4th leg, at home in Tokyo.\u00a0 Canada\u2019s Claudia Holzner<\/strong> and Jacqueline Simoneau<\/strong> were at the top of the podium in the previous leg in China and won the bronze medal in the 2nd leg in Greece.<\/p>\n The first evening will conclude with 6 Technical Solo Routines and 6 Technical Team Routines. In the Tech Solo event, it will be the second time in the series that Japan\u2019s Inui and Canada\u2019s Simoneau meet up. In Tokyo, Inui won a silver medal and Simoneau finished just of the podium. The Technical Team routines are sure to be a highlight.<\/p>\n The movements of 8 people in the water, moving rapidly, powerful, while still staying synchronized will be a great way to finish the first day of competition in Greensboro. Excitement is building for the debut of the home team, USA, but Japan, considered a favorite, after winning the gold medal in Tokyo, will surely be ready to perform. Hungary, Colombia and Peru will be making the competition for the medals very exciting. On Saturday, the technical duets are first on the program, and with 12 routines this event is set to be another exciting showdown between Canada and Japan. Canada surely is feeling confident after just winning the gold medal in China, but will have step it up to be able to earn that top spot on the podium.<\/p>\n