Russian world champions Anastasia Davydova and Anastasia Yermakova held their duet lead after the synchronized swimming free routine preliminary round at the Olympics here yesterday.
The Russians had taken the lead after Monday’s technical program and confirmed their dominance ahead of Japan’s Miya Tachibana and Miho Takeda going in to today’s free routine final.
Davydova and Yermakova, both aged 21, earned three maximum 10s for their routine to Don Kihot by Minkus with their lowest mark a 9.8 for artistic impression from the Japanese judge. They scored a total of 99.001 points for technical merit and artistic impression combined. The Japanese, the 2001 world duet champions, scored a string of 9.8s and one 9.9 from their home judge for a total of 98.000 for their revamped routine. The United States team of Alison Bartosik and Anna Kozlova are sitting third on 96.751 ahead of Spain’s Gemma Mengual and Paola Tirados. Russian-born Kozlova, fourth at the last Olympics with a different partner and fourth at the worlds with Bartosik, competed at the 1992 Games for the Commonwealth of Independent States.
