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Rushmoor win Free Combination gold at 2016 National Synchro Champs

On the first day of the ASA National Synchronised Swimming Championships 2016, Rushmoor Synchro improved on their 2015 performance to take gold in the Free Combination event.

England Programmes Training Squad athletes were also in action today and they showcased the hard work they have been doing in training across solo, duet and team events.

Rushmoor win Free Combination gold

The positions reversed this year with 2015 champions City of Bristol SC taking silver while last year’s runners-up Rushmoor Synchro SC stepping on to the top of the podium after scoring 73.5000

Rushmoor’s routine, performed to the music of Queen, was packed full of tricky lifts which gave their routine a high degree of difficulty. The team were full of energy over the full 4m30 routine, with lots of changes in pace and movement across the whole length of the pool.

The team – consisting of Alice Bell, Amelia Grinham, Bella Harris-Johnstone, Celina Dembinska-Kenner, Chloe Thickett, Claire Harris, Hannah James, Imogen Smith, Lara Hockin, Megan Randall, Rosie Gunn and Victoria Usher – showed excellent interpretation of the music and the creative choreography amazed the crowd, in particular their cycling-inspired lift.

  • Click here to watch the Rushmoor Free Combination performance from Nottingham.

The Bristol squad, made up of Bryony Dale, Charlotte Davies, Charlotte Sissons, Chloe Shortman, Corrie Leech, Daniella Lloyd, Graccia Gardner, Holly Morgan, Ilaria Brandimarte, Niamh Allanson-Campbell, Olivia Sissons and Verity Page, scored 69.8000 for their theatrical routine to the soundtrack from ‘Phantom of the Opera’.

They showed good synchronisation throughout the whole routine, moving across the pool as one fluid unit despite constant changes in music tempo.

The 11-strong team from Reading Royals – Alexandra Turrell, Anna Boehning, Daisy Fowler, Emma Goudge, Emma Kitching, Hannah Mulshaw, Harriette Smith, Isobel Rastall, Jennifer Bates, Katerina Sage and Teri-Faye Coupar – rounded out the top three, their Burlesque themed routine scoring 63.8333.

The Great Britain squad (Danielle Cooper, Emma Critchley, Hannah Randall, Isabelle Thorpe, Jodie Cowie, Jorja Brown, Kate Shortman, Katie Clark, Olivia Federici, Phoebe Bradley-Smith and Zoe James) delighted the crowd with their James Bond themed routine, their first performance in a competition.

The 11 swimmers showcased impressive synchronisation throughout their thrilling routine, scoring 79.4000 as the only entry in the Team Combination Open category.

  • Click here to watch the Great Britain Free Combination performance from Nottingham.

Griffith lands Tech Solo title

Madison Griffith from City of Birmingham SC performed an emotional routine to Adele’s ‘When We Were Young’ to take gold in the Championships event with a final score of 57.6904.

Gemma Broad, who has previously been Scottish national senior and junior champion, finished second following her clocks-inspired routine (56.6526), while Gateshead Synchro SC swimmer Rachel Lee performed an action packed routine with strong artistic impression and dramatic flair to take bronze with a score of 54.2446.

Competing for Great Britain, Olivia Federici demonstrated her wealth of experience in the Technical Solo Open competition.

In her first outing as a soloist at the National Synchro Champs, Federici performed a mesmerising routine to Bob Dylan’s ‘House of the Risin’ Sun’. The London 2012 Olympian showed excellent height and polished lines throughout her dramatic packed routine, scoring a total of 76.0683.

Federici and Clark shine in Tech Duet

After taking gold in the Solo Open event, Olivia Federici joined fellow London 2012 Olympian, Katie Clark in the Technical Duet Open competition.

The pair, who secured Team GB’s Olympic quota place last month, highlighted their impressive skills throughout the routine – choreographed only three weeks before the Olympic qualifying event – to take gold with a score of 78.8542.

  • Click here to watch Federici and Clark’s Tech Duet performance from Nottingham.
Olivia Federici and Katie Clark performing their Duet Tech routine from the 2016 ASA National Synchronised Swimming Championships

Hannah Randall and Emma Critchley were the second pair to represent Great Britain in the open duet event. They performed a dramatic routine, demonstrating intricate and precise movement to win silver with a score of 72.9640.

  • Click here to watch Randall and Critchley’s Duet Tech routine from Nottingham.

Earlier in the day, junior athletes (15-18yrs) showcased their skills across individual elements in the FINA Junior Figures competition.

Kate Shortman finished first with a score of 73.2571 while her Duet partner and City of Bristol teammate finished third, scoring 69.3607.

City of Leeds’ Rebecca Richardson separating the pair in the final standing, scoring 70.2670 to place second overall.

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