Showing posts with label Synchronised Swimmers. Show all posts

Monday, 15 August 2016

Ukrainian synchronised swimmer gains an army of fans with cheeky 'striptease' video filmed during practice

What could possibly make her so popular? Ukrainian synchronised swimmer gains an army of fans with cheeky 'striptease' video filmed during practice

The video of the 24-year-old athlete Anna Voloshyna has now gone viral
She performed the playful 'strip' by slowly taking off her bathrobe
She wrote: 'Having good humour is a precondition for good training'
Olympian has seen thousands of new fans subscribing to her profile

PUBLISHED: 16:43, 15 August 2016 | UPDATED: 19:02, 15 August 2016

A synchronised swimmer who performed a tongue-in-cheek 'striptease' just before beginning practice at the Rio Olympics has gained an army of new internet fans.

The video of 24-year-old Anna Voloshyna has now gone viral and the Olympian has seen thousands of new fans subscribing to her profile.

She performed the playful 'strip' by slowly taking off her bathrobe and giggling as she jokingly danced around.

A synchronised swimmer who performed a tongue-in-cheek 'striptease' just before beginning practice at the Rio Olympics has gained an army of new internet fans

She posted the clip on her Instagram profile with the caption: 'Having good humour is a precondition for good training.'

Internet user synchro.world said: 'Best best best of luck today!

'Show what both of you are capable of doing! Your duet routines are one of the best of the competition and one of my favs, and if you perform as well as you know how, you will have an amazing score! Go for it!'

She is now in the final stages of the duet synchronised swimming competition with her teammate Lolita Ananasova, also 24, and is also on course for another medal as part of her country's women's team.

The video of the 24-year-old athlete Anna Voloshyna has now gone viral and the Olympian has seen thousands of new fans subscribing to her profile

She performed the playful 'strip' by slowly taking off her bathrobe and giggling as she jokingly danced around

She posted the clip on her Instagram profile with the caption: 'Having good humour is a precondition for good training'

Lolita Ananasova and Anna Voloshyna compete in the Duets Free Routine preliminaries at the Maria Lenk Aquatics in Rio

Ms Voloshyna has won four bronze medals at women's synchronized swimming World Championships and two golds at European Championships.

She is not the only Olympian to make an impact online - just before the Games started, tennis superstar Serena Williams released a dance video ahead of the Brazilian games in which she teaches fans how to twerk.

In the video, she runs through different moves including a warm up, a transition and then a 'basic shake'.

Pita Taufatofua, 32, the first Tongan to represent his country in Olympic Taekwondo, also set pulses racing when he marched into the Maracana shirtless and smothered in coconut oil.

The Ukraine women's synchronished swimming team is hoping to win a medal this year

She is now in the final stages of the duet synchronised swimming competition with her teammate Lolita Ananasova, also 24, and is also still on course for another medal as part of her country's women's team

Ms Voloshyna has won four bronze medals at women's synchronized swimming World Championships and two golds at European Championships

Wednesday, 8 August 2012

Synchronised Swimming :Welcome to ladies of Cirque de l'Eau

Des Kelly: Welcome to ladies of Cirque de l'Eau... but why do they do it?

By DES KELLY

PUBLISHED: 23:31, 7 August 2012 | UPDATED: 23:31, 7 August 2012

It is graceful, artistic and undoubtedly difficult, but I spent most of my afternoon at the synchronised swimming wondering what possible use it could be in everyday life.

Most sports have a reason to exist. I can see how waving a sword about like a Team GB fencer might come in handy, particularly on the night bus.

I also understand how riding a horse is a skill worth acquiring, especially if you have forgotten your sword and want to avoid that night bus.

Erm, why? The skillset of synchronised swimmers, while impressive, doesn't have place away from the pool

But smiling like an escaped lunatic and performing a vertical split upside down while your lungs fill with water? That is a skillset that’s not so easy to apply outside the pool.

The only job I could think of where the combination might come in useful was ‘air stewardess’.

Perhaps all aircrew can secretly do synchronised swimming? When that cabin safety announcement reaches the part saying ‘in the unlikely event of the aircraft landing on water...’ I immediately envisage not only dying after plummeting 30,000 feet, but then drowning as well, which is two deaths.

Now I can calm myself by picturing airline trolley dollies serenely emerging from the wreckage in synchronised symmetry, like a scene from a Busby Berkeley musical, politely serving gin-and-tonics with a fixed, rictus grin as the jet sinks gently below the surface. What a way to go.

This aircrew theory seemed more plausible when I discovered Russia rank as the world No 1 in synchronised swimming. As you may know, Russia also has a terrible record when it comes to air safety. Coincidence?

Sadly, yes. They will not be bringing me dry roasted peanuts in business class. Firstly, because the office tries to make me fly economy; secondly, because top synchronised swimmers are full-time athletes.

The Team GB pair of Olivia Federici and Jenna Randall reached Britain’s first final in two decades having spent the last four years at the high performance centre in Aldershot training 42 hours a week. The results were apparent.

Sink or swim: The routine is scored for what is done beneath the surface as much as above it

Swimmers must complete eight technical elements called figures, then perform a free routine for which they choose their own choreography and music.

Len Goodman wasn’t here, but the judges mark on artistic impression and technical merit in both categories, with a maximum 50 points for each.

There are signature moves such as sculling where hand movements are used to keep afloat. Ballet leg is when one limb is held vertical and the other horizontal. Treading water is known as egg-beating. The aforementioned vertical split is swimming upside down with legs akimbo. And the pedalo is when you splash about in panic like a drunken cricketer.

Throughout all the aquatic acrobatics competitors are not allowed to touch the bottom of the pool, which is where I would be found if I tried any of it.

Luckily, men are not allowed. Only women have contested synchronised swimming since its introduction to the Olympics in 1984. Strangely, I have heard little clamour for the men to be given equality throughout the intervening 18 years. Maybe appearing on Strictly Come Dancing is enough.

Even before the swimmers reach the water, the performance begins as the duos march and dance with a singular precision that is sustained through their entire routine.

If you’re having difficulty picturing this, think of what Tom Daley and The Other Bloke do when they jump off the diving board and imagine they also had to be in exact synch on the poolside, up the ladder, off the board, underwater, out of the pool, in the hot tub and on the journey home afterwards.

Smile for the camera: Performers must maintain strong facial expressions throughout their routines

These girls mimic one another’s movements so exactly it looks as if one of them is performing in front of a mirror.

It’s all very beautiful, too. Not so much Cirque du Soleil as Cirque de l’Eau with sequinned costumes straight from Vegas and waterproof make-up applied with a trowel for theatrical effect. Goggles are not allowed, even if they could fit over the mountain of mascara.

The look is only ruined somewhat by the presence of nose clips that make the contestants temporarily resemble Lord Voldemort in drag.

But I understand why this is necessary. ‘Synchro’ experts such as myself know it’s not to stop water going in, but to keep snot from coming out.

Britain’s duo performed a racy, London-themed routine called Ravens with a soundtrack that included bursts of The Chemical Brothers. Other nations were less adventurous. In an earlier round, Egypt swam about to Ravel’s Bolero, which is as passe as playing Stairway To Heaven in a guitar shop.

However, one song stays the same. It is the Russian national anthem. It has been played at every synchronised swimming contest since the Sydney Olympics 12 years ago and it rang out again in London as they won another gold.

Just champion: Russia's Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina secured gold once again

Thanks to her collection of winners’ medals, Natalia Ishchenko is known as ‘Phelps in a skirt’, a horrible image that should not put you off watching her. Because alongside her partner Svetlana Romashina, the Russian duo’s routine was close to perfection and given a mark of 197.10 out of 200 accordingly.

Spain took the silver, China bronze and Britain finished a creditable ninth above France, the USA and South Korea.

‘This was a pretty big jump up,’ said Biz Price, the team’s director of synchronised swimming. ‘They were 14th in Beijing and 20th at the world championship the year before. They’re going to keep getting better.’

Britain compete in the team event on Thursday and Friday. If you have tickets you’ll probably love it. Synchronised swimming is colourful, accomplished and requires great skill and agility.

But so does ballroom dancing, unicycle stunt riding and juggling while balancing a chair on the point of your chin. And none of those are Olympic sports. Yet.

If you’ve got this far, you might even be wondering why this article is on the sports pages. Quite frankly, a part of me does, too. It would feel more at home in among the theatre reviews. But I certainly enjoyed the show. Someone even brought a drink to my seat with a smile.

Thursday, 19 July 2012

Britain's synchronised swimmers relax in bikinis by the side of a pool as they prepare for the Olympics

No pressure here! Britain's synchronised swimmers relax in bikinis by the side of a pool as they prepare for the Olympics

By LOUISE ECCLES

PUBLISHED: 01:06, 19 July 2012 | UPDATED: 08:02, 19 July 2012

If Britain’s synchronised swimmers are feeling the pressure ahead of the Olympics, they are hiding it well.

On a break in Malta this week, the team appeared relaxed as they took a break from their intense training.

Jenna Randall, 22, tweeted a photo of herself sitting by the pool, with her legs wrapped around teammate Katie Skelton.

Chilling: Britain's synchronised swimmers tweeted pictured of themselves on a break in Malta this week. Anya Tarasiuk, left, and Olivia Federici, right, looked happy and relaxed

Hot: The pair basked in the 32C (90F) heat as they prepared for the Games

She wrote: ‘Besties [best friends] on our pre-Olympic training camp!!!’

Her duet partner Olivia Federici, 22, and reserve swimmer Anya Tarasiuk, 19, also posted photos of themselves in bikinis, basking in the 32C (90F) heat.

Miss Tarasiuk tweeted: ‘Chilling by the sea today on our day off’, later adding: ‘Caught the sun a bit more than I would have liked today. Lobster alert.’

With eight days to go before the Games begin, several teams have escaped the poor weather in the UK for sunnier Mediterranean climes.

Friends: Jenna Randall, 22, right, tweeted a photo of herself sitting by the pool, with her legs wrapped around teammate Katie Skelton, left

Britain’s rowers are in Italy, the beach volleyball team fly to Tenerife today, and the track and field team are in the Algarve, where the temperatures were a sweltering 39C (102F) yesterday.

This compares with 19C (66F) in London.

Gold medallist Greg Searle tweeted: ‘Enjoying training in Portugal. New hazard is rowing with fish jumping into the boat or hitting you in the back.’

A sources at the British Olympic Association said athletes trained abroad just before the Games ‘to get away from it all’, as well as for the different climate.

KATCHING MY I

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