Junior semifinal competition wrapped up yesterday determining the top 12 competitors who advanced to Wednesday’s finals. Canada leads the way with a top finish in the preliminary team event while the PR of China and the United States followed. Canada also produced the top placings in the solo (Chloe Isaac) and duet (Camille Bowness, Marie-Lou Morin) events. The Walnut Creek Aquanuts hold the top spot in the trio (Alexandra Bollaidlaw, Renae DiBartolomeo, Kellie Stump) leading into finals.
The elite international competition attracted more than 200 of the nation’s top synchronized swimmers as well as swimmers from Canada, PR of China and Malaysia. The 2007 U.S. Junior National Team is also thrown into the mix of top competition in the Junior Division. The Junior National Team was selected in May and conducted training at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Members of the Junior National Team include Madison Crocker (Weston, Conn.), Katherine Green (Indianapolis, Ind.), Maria Koroleva (Walnut Creek, Calif.), Anna Nelson (Stillwater, Minn.), Javeneh Nikbakht (San Jose, Calif.), Nadia Rais (San Jose, Calif.), Corinne Smith (Ridgefield, Conn.), Kenyon Smith (Boulder, Colo.) and Kimiko Urata (Juneau, Alaska). The senior portion of the event will get underway on Thursday with finals slated for Saturday beginning at 10:00 a.m.
About United States Synchronized Swimming: United States Synchronized Swimming (USSS) serves as the National Governing Body for the sport of synchronized swimming. USSS is a membership-based and non-for-profit organization which services the sport from the grass roots level to the National Team. The mission statement of USSS is "to provide leadership and resources for the promotion and growth of synchronized swimming, to achieve competitive excellence at all levels and to develop broad based participation." For more information, visit USA Synchronized Swimming on-line
