Amazing grace of the Olympic water babes News Papers
Maltese and British teams delight the public during an open display of their synchronised swimming talents on the island ahead of the London 2012 Games
Imagine running for five minutes, doing somersaults and acrobatics, holding your breath, looking graceful and constantly smiling – all in time to a music.
This is the world of synchronised swimmers.
Synchronised swimming, which used to be known as “water ballet”, is a very strenuous and skilful sport that follows routines of athletic movements performed in water and choreographed to music.
With the countdown to the Olympics getting ever closer, on Wednesday the public had the opportunity to get a closer look at the discipline needed for the sport.
The main attraction of the evening was Team GB, whose swimmers include Jenna Randall, Olivia Federici, Katie Clark, Anya Tarasiuk, Jenn Knobbs, Katie Skelton, Katie Dawkins, Vicky Lucass, Asha Randall, Yvette Baker, Lolli Montico and Adele Carlsen.
They performed to the Peter Pan theme, shooting out of the water in seemingly effortless movements.
Team GB is not expected to win any medals at the Olympics in London, although the coaches are confident it will be a line-up to reckon with at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
At Wednesday’s display at the National Pool Complex in Tal-Qroqq, Malta’s young team of synchronised swimmers also showed off their skills and techniques.
The Maltese team is made up of Hanna Preca Trapani, the soloist, Mya Azzopardi, Martina Fitzgerald, Mikela Riolo, Ingird Djincharadze, Lisa Fenech, Andria Friggieri, Yanika Spiteri, Gaia Gatt, Hayley Camilleri, Melanie Borg Cardona, Zea Falzon, Alessia Cardona Taliana, Gail Gauci and Faye Magro.
Excuse me but i wish to brag a bit about Martina's achievements
he Maltese girls competed in two individual categories, over-12 and under-12. Alessia Cardona Taliana placed third in Category 1 (over 12 years) to win a bronze medal while Martina Fitzgerald and Hannah Preca Trapani were fourth and sixth respectively.
Dam 0.5 points away from a bronze meddle, better luck next time
Picture above is national coach Saho doing one of her underwater modeling stunts
delboy..i couldnt get on the second link but i looked at the underwater pic and its beautiful...very!
She is doing so very well....it takes commitment and hard work to be successful and its clear that she must have both in abundance plus a lot of talent...I will enjoy following her progress and achievements.
Hey DJ thanks for uploading the underwater pic of Saho Harrada the swimming coach, she is a silver meddle Olympian from Japan, her underwater model pictures are stunning, strange i would not look twice seeing her coach in baggy shorts and flipflops but on magazines she looks out of this world. sigh women!!!
Tks for solving the Avatar problem DJ. posting pic of wife and i shows how much we like and support your site.
Well it is mid summer and the young Malta babes seem to have been hitting the local newspapers, or else coach Saho has some really good PR connections. hey i never new this sport existed since wife and daughter became fanatics, well i can't say i am a fanatic but will fanatically support my daughter in doing what she loves doing. tks for all the good praise. Simple observation, watching them in the pool seems so fast and splashy only in still picture and slow motion can one really appreciate the skill and beauty of the sport.
Post by freewheeler on Aug 6, 2013 12:12:44 GMT -8
Wow! I have missed lots on the forum whilst the school holidays are going on. I have enjoyed catching up whilst I have an hour to spare, I have loved hearing about your families and jerseyboy my home is very crazy too. I like it busy
Sigh kids they grow up so fast that i can't keep pace. Deep down i am an old fashioned guy when young i rebelled against the system now i am part of it. I had a discussion with my best mate who told me he has advised his own daughter to go on the pill she is 17, i was taken aback, i saw it as sort of an encouragement, but still could see his reasoning, he knows his daughter dates and claims it is gona happen no matter what i say so better be safe. His own family had gone through a bitter ordeal when his baby sister became pregnant at 16 so i can understand him. In my time it was so discrete and undercover. i don't think i can have a discussion about this subject not with my own daughter, still she is very young and does not go out very often with friends. My wife can certainly do a better job, plus i think they are more open to discussion when i am not present. I'm talking about life facts not the pill here, over my dead body at this age. Wife claims i am the least to talk and should remember my own days, she calls me an addict which i am, but it is different, my dad and her mother certainly would not approve nor would we tell them. Anyway she is my only daughter and my whole life revolves around her and her mother. i wish her to be like us, family committed and if should be in the future date people she wants to commit to and not for fun, or the other type of lifestyles the media promotes, in the end my line of thought always wins just like that of my parents before me, for a harmonious lifestyle, just hope it does this time too.
delboy...m sure that your family ethos will be adopted by your daughter also. We learn by example so im sure the example you set for you will be the one she will follow.
The use of the pill concerns me a little when it comes down to being protected from sexual diseases. Of course it is important to avoid pregnancies but i wonder how many girls/women have caught something due to not feeling the need to use a condom.....and does it allow more sexual freedom?
I think we have to keep open lines of communication for our children so they can be guided....though it must be very hard for a father to..i appreciate this...
It's must be very scarey having a teenage daughter these days!
Very well spoken Lara. I still think Penny can do a better job than me, had i a son maybe i could be more upfront and manly. I once had an arguement with a builder which scared her, But daddy i thought you where fighting but it is how we talk dear or at least in Malta, i now do all that talk in private. she is also very young and a bit babyish too in terms of boyfriends too. Yes you are right we as parents must nurture life skills by example. When the time comes she ventures out on her own i hope she adopts these skills but still she will always be daddys baby girl. I think most of us SCI or not are like this too. As of now it is education, and her beloved swimming which we focus on. Like to here from other moms and Dads too on this site.