Australian Synchro Squad Accomplish Olympic Dream
Synchronised Swimming: Teams Technical
Athlete: Danielle Kettlewell, Amie Thompson, Deborah Tsai, Rose Stackpole
Venue: Maria Lenk Aquatic Stadium
Undaunted by mixing it with the best synchronised swimmers in the world, Australia stood tall on the first day of the team event at the Maria Lenk Aquatic Stadium.
Competing in the technical event, vice-captain Danielle Kettlewell said the team was pleased with their score of 74.0667 putting them in eighth with the free swim to come tomorrow.
“It definitely felt like a really good swim. For us part of the accomplishment is being able to get to the Olympics and do our personal best,” Kettlewell said.
“We know that we’re not in medal contention but just the fact that we can go out there and represent Australia and swim with our own teammates under the Australian flag makes us really happy and I think that we achieved our goals today.”
The team performed fourth today following Egypt who are just ahead of the points race in seventh. Leading the way in their dominance of the sport is Russia who were the clear crowd favourites alongside the home team of Brazil.
Kettlewell said it’s fantastic to swim in front of a packed stadium in Barra.
“It’s a huge honour and it makes me really proud that so many people are interested. Synchro doesn’t really get a spotlight, only once every four years with the Olympics but this is a great way to get people to know more about our little known sport and get the attention out there and get an appreciation out there of the athleticism.”
For captain Bianca Hammett, her favourite swim is yet to come, with the free event full of Australian symbolism. It comes after the team, including Hammett – the only member from London 2012 – performed to AC/DC four years ago.
“This year, tomorrow, we’ll be swimming a very Australian routine again. So we’ve picked music that’s didgeridoos and kookaburra sounds effects, different animals so we’re trying to represent Australia through the different animals and flora of our country,” Hammett said.
“We have improved a lot over the last few years and so we are pushing for synchro to become a bigger sport. Doing something memorable like the AC/DC routine in London is helping our profile.”
Annie Kearney
olympics.com.au