Synchro Competition Continues at FINA World Swimming Championships in Melbourne

The duet technical synchronized swimming final highlighted day four of the synchronized swimming portion of the 2007 FINA World Aquatic Championships held in Melbourne, Australia. Synchro will run through March 24 and features the solo, duet, team and combination events in the elite international competition. Christina Jones and Annabelle Orme teamed up to represent Team USA in the fifth place position with a score of a 95.167. Russia stole the show with a 98.833 for the gold medal, while Spain (97.500), Japan (97.167) and China (96.000) followed.

Competition continued with the preliminary round of the team free. Team USA (96.333) finished in fourth place behind Russia (99.000), Spain (98.333) and Japan (97.167). The U.S. will look to make a second appearance on the medal stand on Saturday, March 24 for the team free finals.

Earlier in the week, Team USA claimed the bronze medal in the free combination routine final. The combo always proves to be a fan-favorite as it incorporates five different routines into one seven-minute program.

The U.S. National Team consists of Brooke Abel (Fallbrook, Calif.), Janet Culp (Littleton, Colo.), Jennie Culp (Littleton, Colo.), Kate Hooven (Pleasanton, Calif.), Christina Jones (Fremont, Calif.), Becky Kim (Walnut Creek, Calif.), Meghan Kinney, (Mission Viejo, Calif.) Andrea Nott (San Jose, Calif.), Annabelle Orme (Walnut Creek, Calif.), Jillian Penner (Seattle, Wash.), Kim Probst (Troy, N.Y.) and Layla Smith (Boulder, Colo.).

More on the 2007 FINA World Championships - Melbourne, 17 March - 1 April 2007 - Including links to full results.

About United States Synchronized Swimming: United States Synchronized Swimming (USSS) serves as the National Governing Body for the sport of synchronized swimming, appointed as such by the United States Olympic Committee. 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