Kazan welcomes junior synchro swimmers

The 15th edition of the FINA World Junior Synchronised Swimming Championships kicks off tomorrow, on July 9, at the Aquatics Palace of Kazan, Russian Federation. The coming 5 days are likely to be very hot and busy, and gradually update the world juniors synchronised swimming chart as the most talented young athletes, aged 15 to 18, will be competing in solo, duet, team, free combination (preliminaries and finals) and in figure competition.

More than 240 synchro swimmers are expected to show their programs in Kazan, with a good number of the participating countries already registered – 34, among them Australia, Belarus, Canada, Chile, China, Columbia, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Southern Korea, Lichtenstein, Macao, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, RSA, San Marino, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Russia.

However, all figures and data will be a part and parcel of the Technical Meeting, scheduled a little later this evening, and made vocal during the pre-event press-conference on July 9.

According to LOC officials, almost all the participants are reported to have safely arrived to Kazan with no delays and problems, and some of the teams, like New Zealand, Lichtenstein and Canada, came here early this week to get a better feeling of the arena, try the water and get better adapted to the time-difference change. Official trainings are in the wings now, and there is a couple of hours left to finalize preparations before the start.

Preliminary Duet opens up the competition program on Saturday morning, at 10:00 am local time, followed by the official Opening Ceremony and Preliminary Team session.

In the previous edition of the Championships, held in Helsinki in 2014, Russia swept three golds on offer in solo (Anisiya Neborako), duet (sisters Anastasiya and Darya Bayandina) and team, whereas Japan topped the podium once in free combination. Canada and China were the other two nations earning medals.

Competition schedule

July 9
10:00 Preliminary Duet
17:30 Opening Ceremony
18:00 Preliminary Team

July 10
10:00 Preliminary Solo
18:00 Preliminary Free Combination

July 11
10:00 Figure competition

July 12
10:00 Final Duet
18:00 Final Team

July 13
10:00 Final Solo
18:00 Final Free Combination

The event will be live streamed on FINA YOUTUBE