Swim England Artistic Swimming
Federici and Clark post free routine PB in California
July 18, 2016Olivia Federici and Katie Clark recorded a free routine PB to finish sixth at the 2016 America Open in California.
The English synchronised swimmers scored 85.6500 in the final to finish on 164.6215 overall.
Their score placed them behind duets from Spain, Canada and USA as well as two pairs from China.
But Federici and Clark finished nearly three points clear of Argentinian twins Etel and Sofia Sanchez in California.
The Sanchez sisters had been ranked ahead of the Brits, finishing one place above them at the Olympic Qualification Tournament in March.
Startling progress for snakes-themed routine
Federici and Clark’s progress on their snakes-themed free routine is startling, having scored 81.4333 on their last outing at the European Championships at London Aquatics Centre in May.
The English swimmers improved on that effort in their prelim in California, scoring 83.9500 for their routine. A technical routine of 78.9715 saw them ranked sixth overall on 162.9215 ahead of the final.
And they took their performance to the next level in the final, closing the gap behind the Americans to less than eight points.
The British pair will now look to Rio 2016 where Federici will compete at her third Olympic Games.
The Rushmoor swimmer finished 14th for Duet with Jenna Randall at the 2008 Games in Beijing. The pair then improved to place ninth at London 2012.
She also competed alongside Reading Royals’ Clark in the Team event in London, where the Brits finished sixth overall.
- Head to our Results page to download full results from the 2016 America Open in California.
Image credit: Team USA Synchro
