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Swimming's greatest rivalry center stage in London

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There's nothing like a good rivalry to get the competitive juices flowing. At the Olympic pool in London, get ready to savor Michael Phelps vs. Ryan Lochte. They are the world's two greatest swimmers, and their head-to-head races at the U.S. Olympic trials were downright epic. Of course, that was merely a tantalizing warmup for the events that really matter in Britain. ''I always love competition,'' Phelps said. ''You can probably count on there being some other close races in the next couple of weeks.'' Already the winningest Olympian ever with 14 gold medals, Phelps will swim seven more events in London in what he insists will be his final meet as a competitive swimmer. The 27-year-old has long stated his plans to retire as soon as his hands hit the wall for the final time at these Games. Lochte has no plans to quit the sport, and the only parting gift he'd like to send to his friendly rival is a couple of Olympic silver medals, which is actually a color Phelps doesn't have. ''It's hard to say who is the best swimmer,'' said Lochte, who beat Phelps twice at the 2011 world championships but lost to him three out of four times at the U.S. trials. ''We're both great racers, and we have been going back and forth for so long.'' While much of the attention on the men's side will focus on Phelps and Lochte, there's another American ready to break out for the women. Well, to be more accurate, for the females. Missy Franklin is still just a girl, only 17 and looking forward to her senior year of high school in Colorado. But ''Missy the Missile'' won five medals at last year's worlds and is scheduled to swim a staggering seven events at the Olympics. With her boundless enthusiasm - just about everything she says includes the word ''awesome - and a frame that's custom-built for swimming fast - 6-foot-1 with size-13 feet - Franklin has a chance to be a huge star in London. ''It sounds absolutely amazing,'' she said. ''I'm thrilled to see what's going to happen this summer.'' There are other compelling stories, as well, from Japanese star Kosuke Kitajima trying to sweep the men's Olympic breaststroke events for the third straight time to sprint stars James Magnussen of Australia (like Franklin, also known as ''The Missile) and the tongue-twisting Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands (who playfully tells anyone who asks how her name is pronounced, ''Just like you write it.'') But two swimmers figure to stand above all others at these Games. Phelps and Lochte. ''Neither one of us likes to lose,'' Phelps said. Phelps actually qualified in eight Olympic events, giving him a chance to match his record haul of gold medals from the Beijing Games four years ago. But he dropped the 200-meter freestyle, believing a slightly smaller program would give him a better chance to succeed, considering he didn't train nearly as hard for these Olympics as he did leading up to 2008. Plus, racing seven times instead of eight removes any pressure to repeat his Great Haul of China, when he broke Mark Spitz's iconic record for most golds at one Olympics. ''We won't hear that number `eight' again,'' said Bob Bowman, Phelps' longtime coach. That leaves him with two races against Lochte: the 200 and 400 individual medleys. The laid-back Floridian, known for his wild wardrobe, gaudy jewelry and blurting out nonsensical words such as ''jeah,'' won both events at the 2011 worlds, beating Phelps with a world-record time in the 200 and easily taking the longer race with Phelps sitting out. Phelps, the two-time defending Olympic champion in both, returned to the 400 IM only this year after vowing in Beijing to never swim the grueling race again. Lochte beat him by a fairly comfortable margin at the trials, but Phelps came back to win the 200 IM - the two swimmers never more than inches apart, swimming virtually in sync for all four laps. Look for more of the same in London, especially since Phelps has clearly been paying attention to Lochte's repeated declarations that ''this is my time.'' ''I'm always a fan of quotes,'' Phelps said with a sly grin. He also edged Lochte in the 200 free at the trials, then surprised everyone by dropping that event. That will make things a bit easier for the defending world champion, but Lochte is hardly a shoe-in against a loaded international field. France's Yannick Agnel has put up the three fastest times in the world this year, Germany's Paul Biedermann won the 2009 world championship, and there's a trio of Asian stalwarts who figure to be in the mix: Sun Yang of China, Park Tae-hwan of South Korea and Takeshi Matsuda of Japan. Like Phelps and Franklin, Lochte is down to swim four individual events in London. He also qualified in the 200 backstroke, another race he won at worlds during a six-medal performance. The most exciting races could come in the relays, especially the 4x100 free. Australia, led by Magnussen and James Roberts, appears to be the clear favorite. But the U.S. upset a powerful French team in 2008, a memorable race in which Jason Lezak chased down Alain Bernard on the final leg to keep Phelps on course for his record eight gold medals. ''We're not farther away from the Australians now than we were from the French four years ago,'' said Gregg Troy, the U.S. men's coach. It will be interesting to see who the Americans send out on that relay. Phelps didn't even compete in the 100 free at the trials, but he's assured of being in the four-man group that swims the final. The U.S. also could insert Lochte, though he only swam through the semifinals of the 100 free in Omaha. At the moment, Lochte is assured of just one relay in London, the 4x200 free. He definitely wants to be on another and his personal coach is Troy, who will have the final say on who to send out for the relays. That should provide some intrigue at selection time. Even if the times don't match up to the Australians, the Americans might look to gain a psychological edge by having a team that includes the world's best all-around swimmers. ''You have to have those types of guys on the relays,'' said Cullen Jones, another contender for a relay spot. ''If anything, just to scare the crap out of everyone else. Those guys really do put forth a lot of effort, especially in the 100. Even though it's not their best event, they always show up.'' Magnussen is looking to live up to his nickname. The Missile has already gone more than a half-second faster (47.10 seconds) than anyone else in the world this year in the 100 free, and he's eager to take down the world record set by Brazil's Cesar Cielo (46.91) in a high-tech bodysuit. ''If I swam it in a minute, I wouldn't mind as long as I get that Olympic gold,'' Magnussen said. But he added, barely pausing, ''I'll be doing everything in my power to break that world record because I want to be considered the fastest man in history.'' Cielo might have something to say about that, at least in the 50 free. He's the defending Olympic champion in the chaotic one-lap sprint, and he put up a blistering 21.38 at the Brazilian championships in April, just off his winning time in Beijing. No male swimmer has ever won the same event at three straight Olympics, but it's likely to happen - several times - in London. Phelps has a chance to three-peat in all four of his individual events, while Kitajima is looking to duplicate his breaststroke sweeps from 2004 and 2008. Also keep an eye on the home team. The Brits want to improve on the six medals they won in Beijing, and they'll certainly have the crowds behind them at the dazzling new aquatic center in Olympic Park. The women, especially, will send out a strong team that includes Rebecca Adlington, who won the 400 and 800 free four years ago, and medal contenders Francesca Halsall, Ellen Gandy and Hannah Miley. This looked to be the Year of the Comeback, with everyone from Ian Thorpe to 40-year-old Janet Evans attempting to recapture their former glory. Most failed miserably. Thorpe was eliminated at the Australian trials, while Evans didn't come close to qualifying for the U.S. team. Former Olympic medalist Ed Moses also failed to make it, and even 45-year-old Dara Torres - who didn't actually retire after Beijing but was trying to overcome a radical knee operation - came up short. Torres entered only one event at the U.S. trials, putting all her eggs in the 50 free. The made it to the final of that furious sprint, but finished fourth - nine-hundredths of a second away from a spot in her sixth Olympics. She scooped up her 6-year-old daughter and immediately retired for the third time, this time for good. ''This is really over,'' Torres said. Natalie Coughlin almost missed out, but the 11-time medalist slipped onto the U.S. team in the 4x100 free relay. That should at least give her a chance to match Torres and Jenny Thompson as the most decorated female Olympians in the country's history, but that's a far cry from the six medals Coughlin won in Beijing. ''I'm at peace with it,'' she said. ''I did everything I possibly could this year.'' Anthony Ervin only has one event, too, but his arrival in London will be much more triumphant. A gold medalist at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, he stunningly quit the sport three years later without explanation. After an eight-year walkabout, he quietly returned to the pool and quickly showed why he was considered one of the most naturally gifted sprinters in U.S. history. Ervin completed his comeback by earning a spot in the 50 free. ''I just want to keep this fun train chugging,'' he said. One thing that hasn't made much news in the lead-up to the London Games: the high-tech suits that were once all the rage. Speedo unveiled its groundbreaking LZR Racer, developed with help from NASA, shortly before the Beijing Olympics, setting off a virtual arms race to come up with the fastest suit. The situation got downright silly by the 2009 worlds in Rome, where some swimmers competed in rubberized suits that came with everything but a motor. After an astonishing 43 world records were set in Italy, governing body FINA finally said enough is enough. New rules were adopted that restricted suits to textile materials and limited the amount of body coverage. Since then, only two world records have been eclipsed. There likely will be more in London, but not many. USA Swimming is eager to use the Olympics as a launching point to get over a couple of tough years post-Beijing. The governing body was rocked by revelations that dozens of coaches, including a former national team official, had been barred from the deck largely because of relationships with underage female swimmers. That led USA Swimming to beef up its background checks, toughen the rules on what was appropriate behavior, and bring in a new official to oversee swimmer safety. ''We got thrown under the spotlight a couple of years ago,'' said Chuck Wielgus, the executive director of USA Swimming. ''Our first reaction, quite frankly, was the reaction that a lot of individuals would have: We got defensive. We wanted to start making excuses. We got over that pretty quickly.'' In addition, there was the senseless death of American open water swimmer Fran Crippen, who suffered a heat-related seizure and drowned during a 2010 event in the Middle East, leading to calls for sweeping new measures to improve safety in that still-fledgling sport. The conditions shouldn't be nearly as harsh in London, where open water will be on the Olympic program for the second time. The competition will take place on the Serpentine lake in Hyde Park. Russia is the overwhelming favorite in synchronized swimming, looking for its fourth straight sweep of the golds. Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina are the world's top duet, and they'll take part in the team competition as well. China and Spain are the main challengers. The U.S., once a power in the sport, didn't even qualify for the team event in London. Mary Killman and Mariya Koroleva will compete in duet but are given little chance of reaching the podium after the Americans failed to earn a medal in Beijing. --- Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 --- Medal projections: Swimming Men 50 Freestyle Gold: Cesar Cielo, Brazil Silver: James Magnussen, Australia Bronze: Frederick Bousquet, France 100 Freestyle Gold: James Magnussen, Australia Silver: Yannick Angel, France Bronze: Nikita Lobintsev, Russia 200 Freestyle Gold: Ryan Lochte, United States Silver: Yannick Angel, France Bronze: Park Tae-hwan, South Korea 400 Freestyle Gold: Sun Yang, China Silver: Park Tae-hwan, South Korea Bronze: Yannick Angel, France 1,500 Freestyle Gold: Sun Yang, China Silver: Park Tae-hwan, South Korea Bronze: Gregorio Paltrinieri, Italy 100 Backstroke Gold: Matt Grevers, United States Silver: Ryosuke Irie, Japan Bronze: Camille Lacourt, France 200 Backstroke Gold: Ryan Lochte, United States Silver: Ryosuke Irie, Japan Bronze: Tyler Clary, United States 100 Breaststroke Gold: Kosuke Kitajima, Japan Silver: Felipe Franca da Silva, Brazil Bronze: Brendan Hansen, United States 200 Breaststroke Gold: Kosuke Kitajima, Japan Silver: Ryo Tateishi, Japan Bronze: Daniel Gyurta, Hungary 100 Butterfly Gold: Michael Phelps, United States Silver: Tyler McGill, United States Bronze: Milorad Cavic, Serbia 200 Butterfly Gold: Michael Phelps, United States Silver: Takeshi Matsuda, Japan Bronze: Nick D'Arcy, Australia 200 Individual Medley Gold: Michael Phelps, United States Silver: Ryan Lochte, United States Bronze: Laszlo Cseh, Hungary 400 Individual Medley Gold: Ryan Lochte, United States Silver: Michael Phelps, United States Bronze: Kosuke Hagino, Japan 4x100 Freestyle Relay Gold: Australia Silver: United States Bronze: France 4X200 Freestyle Relay Gold: United States Silver: Germany Bronze: Italy 4X100 Medley Relay Gold: United States Silver: Italy Bronze: Australia 10k Open Water Gold: Spyridon Gianniotis, Greece Silver: Thomas Lurz, Germany Bronze: Evgeny Drattsev, Russia Women 50 Freestyle Gold: Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Netherlands Silver: Francesca Halsall, Britain Bronze: Marleen Veldhuis, Netherlands 100 Freestyle Gold: Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Netherlands Silver: Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden Bronze: Francesca Halsall, Britain 200 Freestyle Gold: Allison Schmitt, United States Silver: Camille Muffat, France Bronze: Federica Pellegrini, Italy 400 Freestyle Gold: Rebecca Adlington, Britain Silver: Camille Muffat, France Bronze: Allison Schmitt, United States 800 Freestyle Gold: Rebecca Adlington, Britain Silver: Lotte Friis, Denmark Bronze: Xin Xin, China 100 Backstroke Gold: Missy Franklin, United States Silver: Anastasia Zueva, Russia Bronze: Emily Seebohm, Australia 200 Backstroke Gold: Missy Franklin, United States Silver: Belinda Hocking, Australia Bronze: Anastasia Zueva, Russia 100 Breaststroke Gold: Rebecca Soni, Unit

10 Questions with Team USA Synchronized Swimmer, Mariya Koroleva

Russia leads synchro swimming duet at London Games

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Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina of Russia had the leading score in the synchronized swimming duet technical routine at the London Olympics. Ishchenko and Romashina totaled 98.200 points swimming to the Michael Jackson song ''They Don't Care About Us'' on Sunday in the first day of synchro at the Olympic pool. Ishchenko has won every technical solo event since the 2007 world championships, and the technical portion is her favorite part of the competition. China's Huang Xuechen and Liu Ou were second at 96.100. Ona Carbonell Ballestero and Andrea Fuentes Fache of Spain took third at 96.000.

Russia leads synchro swimming duet

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Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina of Russia had the leading score in the synchronized swimming duet technical routine at the London Olympics. Ishchenko and Romashina totaled 98.200 points swimming to the Michael Jackson song ''They Don't Care About Us'' on Sunday in the first day of synchro at the Olympic pool. Ishchenko has won every technical solo event since the 2007 world championships, and the technical portion is her favorite part of the competition. China's Huang Xuechen and Liu Ou were second at 96.100. Ona Carbonell Ballestero and Andrea Fuentes Fache of Spain took third at 96.000.

Russia leads in synchro swimming

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Go ahead and give another Olympic gold to the Russians in synchronized swimming. Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina are mainly competing against their own standards. Extending the country's domination in the sport, Ishchenko and Romashina headed into the duet final as top qualifiers after the preliminary free routine on Monday. Performing to music that included the theme from Tim Burton's movie ''Sleepy Hollow,'' the Russians glided effortlessly through the water to add to their leading marks in the technical preliminary. They easily claimed the top spot with 196.800 points, leaving everyone else to battle for silver. The leaders are looking for perfection. ''Maybe about 90 percent happy,'' Ishchenko said. ''We have small things to fix for the final. I hope that the judges did not see those mistakes that our coach saw.'' Apparently not. The Russians were comfortably ahead of the other medal contenders, China's Huang Xuechen and Liu Ou in second with 192.810, followed by Spain's Ona Carbonell and Andrew Fuentes at 192.590. ''We don't care about Russia because they're (four) points ahead,'' Fuentes said. ''We're at bronze currently. Our fight now is with China.'' The top 12 teams advanced to Tuesday's final. Among those getting through: The home British duo of Olivia Federici and Jenna Randall in ninth, along with the American pairing of Mary Killman and Mariya Koroleva in 10th. But it would take some sort of major blunder for the Russians to lose this competition. They haven't dropped a synchro event at the Olympics since the 1996 Atlanta Games. ''We have made a few changes, upped the tempo, sped up our program,'' Ishchenko said. The Russians aren't taking anything for granted. Asked how she would prepare for the final, Romashina said the country's athletes were told to avoid distractions by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. ''No shopping,'' she said, laughing. ''Medvedev has given the order to all athletes that they are not allowed to shop or walk around London. We only relax in the Olympic village.'' The Chinese brought in a new duet after twins Jiang Wenwen and Jiang Tingting finished fourth at the Beijing Games. ''The world of synchronized swimming went into a new generation,'' Liu said. ''Because the twins' physical condition was not too good ... that's why they are not competing here. That's why we were selected.'' No one works harder that the Chinese, which helped boost their standing in a sport where reputation plays a large role in the judging. ''Our training is very tough,'' Liu said. ''The longest session we've had is 10 hours nonstop training.'' The U.S., which dominated the sport in the 1980s, didn't even qualify for the team event in London, leaving Killman and Koroleva as its only entries in synchro. Clearly, the Americans have some catching up to do. ''The other countries have really developed their programs and reached above and beyond,'' Koroleva said. ''The U.S. fell behind by just doing what we used to do. We need to think about how to revitalize the sport and how we run the sport in the States.''

Column: Variety is spice of life at the Olympics

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With 302 events in 26 sports crammed into two weeks, the Olympic Games can feel like an overdose. Even if you wedged open your eyes with toothpicks, you couldn't stay awake to watch it all. So why not get out the chain saw and cut the whole thing down to size? Water polo, for instance. Couldn't that be culled? This, after all, is a sport described so acerbically but accurately by one London newspaper at these games as being akin to watching a pool of hungry carp fighting for chunks of bread. Splash, splash. Would it be more fun if they chucked a gallon of bubble bath in with the players? Turn the whole thing into a foam party to go with the thumping beats from the Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim, the incessant blowing of whistles by referees and the disco-fever lines of green and red underwater lights. And the players' caps with the plastic ear protectors? ''A fashion no-no,'' said Alan May, a Londoner who came away somewhat bemused Monday with his wife, Ceri, after watching Croatia crush Kazakhstan and Australia eliminate Greece. ''It was exhausting just to watch it.'' And where to start with synchronized swimming? It's too easy to take a pop at a sport with athletes who coat their hair in gelatin. The right-on petitioners who appealed in London for Olympic synchro to be opened to men, too, to make the games completely gender-equal must be kidding. They might wise up if they searched YouTube for Saturday Night Live's spoof of that idea. Michael Phelps in waterproof makeup? Yuck. But, folks, here's the thing: Synchro, water polo and the other Olympic sports - some of them, like archery, more activities than sport really - that sometimes get talked about as prime candidates for the ax or as being unworthy of sharing the same stage as sprint superstar Usain Bolt are a lot better than the alternative, which would be having whole generations of unfit couch-potatoes glued to their PlayStations. If watching Croatia put 12 goals past Kazakhstan at the Olympics makes kids want to dip their toes in the water - as it did Monday to teenager Amelia Williamson - then of course it needs to be in the games. Same goes for synchro. Amelia and her sisters found water polo's tall, chiseled men rather yummy. ''The ball boys are quite nice, as well,'' she said. The verdict from her dad, Piers: ''Eye-candy for girls.'' A journalist exhausted by 11 straight days of Olympic overload (me) and thinking he could have a little diverting fun by mocking water polo and synchro as Olympic impostors will come away with a whole new attitude. These aren't jokes. They're a lot more physical than they look on TV. You only need to observe how hard synchro swimmers are puffing after their routines to understand that. Or watch players half-drown and grapple with each other for the ball in water polo, an aquatic descendent of rugby so rough and gurgle that the rules allow for players to be ejected for ''brutality.'' The British synchro duo of Olivia Federici and Jenna Randall train 45 hours per week, six days of seven, to hone the clockwork near-perfection of their aquatic ballet. And that was still only good enough to qualify them in ninth place for the finals. Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina, the tournament leaders from Russia, swam like mirror images of each other. The underwater tango of Spanish duo Andrea Fuentes Fache and Ona Carbonell Ballestero, upside down, legs kicking, was beautifully inventive. ''If anyone tries it in the water they'll understand how physical and demanding our sport is,'' said Randall. ''Thankfully, we've got the Olympics in London so more of the general public are seeing our sport and they are actually seeing how hard it is.'' At the games, there's an event for every body type. Elisa Casanova, on the Italian women's water polo team, weighs 100 kilograms (220 pounds) - more than Bolt, who defended his 100-meter sprint title Sunday. Japanese gymnast Asuka Teramoto is listed by games organizers as being just 1.36 meters (4 feet, 6 inches) tall. Chinese basketball player Zhang Zhaoxu stands 2.21 meters (7 feet, 3 inches). Japanese rider Hiroshi Hoketsu, at 71, got to test himself in dressage against competitors less than half his age on his horse, Whisper. Togolese 50-meter freestyle swimmer Adzo Kpossi is listed by games organizers as just 13. So the variety of 302 events in 26 sports is a strength of the Olympics, not its fatal flaw. It ensures there is a little something for almost everyone. And isn't that part of what the Olympics are meant to be about, universality? So hold that chain saw. --- John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicester(at)ap.org or follow him at http://twitter.com/johnleicester

Russia wins gold in synchro swimming

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Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina extended Russia's domination of synchronized swimming with an Olympic gold medal in duet on Tuesday. The Russians improved on their free score from the preliminaries, finishing with a total of 197.100 points. They haven't lost an Olympic synchro event since the 1996 Atlanta Games. The only real drama was for silver, which went to Spain's Ona Carbonell and Andrea Fuentes with 192.900 after a lively, tango-themed routine that had the crowd at the Aquatics Centre clapping along nearly the whole way. China's Huang Xuechen and Liu Ou improved on their score from the prelims with an impressive display of legwork, but the duo's athleticism wasn't enough to hold off Spain's stylish maneuvers. They finished with 192.870.

Russia aims for 4th straight sweep

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Four sweeps in four consecutive Olympics: That's the goal for Russia on Friday in the free routine of the synchronized swimming team event. Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina already secured gold for Russia in the duet event at the London Games, and the Russians lead the team event following Thursday's technical routines. ''Everybody expects us to win gold and it is a lot of pressure,'' Romashina said. ''They also forget that silver and bronze are medals, too.'' Silver and bronze, however, are usually reserved for Russia's challengers -- or rather, fellow competitors. Russia has swept gold in both the duet and team event at the last three games, and also has seven world titles in the team event. However, Russia holds a slim 1.1-point lead over China entering the free routine. ''In the duets they are doing really well, so we expect them to be good in the teams too,'' Romashina said. ''When we see them training we see some mistakes, but we're obviously looking out for them as they're getting better and better.'' Russia collected a near-perfect 98.1 points in the technical routine, China was next with 97.0 points and Spain stood third with 96.2 points. The United States, which last won the team event in 1996, did not qualify. Four years ago in Beijing, Russia won ahead of Spain and China. That was also the finishing order for the duet at these games. ''Tomorrow we will be better than the Chinese, although they are technically very strong, and we have a good surprise lined up,'' Spain's Alba Cabello said. ''We will be like mermaids in the ocean.'' On Thursday, Russia competed to an upbeat Russian dance routine composed by Denis Garnizov, as Prince William's wife, the former Kate Middleton, looked on from the crowd. ''It was a brand new routine and we've only been working on it for a year,'' Russia's Elvira Khasyanova said. ''We think it contained all the necessary elements. ... We are obviously very pleased with the score.'' Meanwhile, Canada and Australia played to the British crowd with soccer and Beatles tributes. Canada's swimmers wore soccer balls on their suits and caps and simulated goal-scoring kicks as they dove into the water. Australia's athletes swam to a ''Back in the USSR'' remix and had Kremlin motifs on their suits. Russia's sparkling suits were classical red and gold -- the color they expect to have hanging around their necks on Friday. ''We aim to make the costumes as impressive as possible, and to unite the music, the choreography and the costumes,'' Khasyanova said. Russia's other team members are Anastasia Davydova, Maria Gromova, Daria Korobova, Alexandra Patskevich, Alla Shishkina and Anzhelika Timanina. Medals will be handed out after Friday's free routines, with points from both days added up. Canada stands fourth with 94.4 points and Japan is fifth with 93.8. Canada, clearly playing to the soccer-loving British crowd, wore caps that looked like soccer balls. The team had to get special approval from swimming governing body FINA to make sure they didn't break the ''no accessories'' rule, which doesn't permit competitors to sport anything but hair adornments on their head. Britain, competing in the team event for the first time, with an automatic qualification as the host, finished sixth, ahead of Egypt and Australia. ''This is just a stepping stone towards Rio,'' Britain's Olivia Federici said, looking ahead to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. ''We hope that we'll be peaking and rooting for a medal.'' Besides raucous support from the home crowd, Kate, now known formally as the Duchess of Cambridge, also cheered on the British swimmers. ''We knew a few days ago that she was coming,'' Britain's Yvette Baker said. ''It's really exciting for us to have someone with such a high profile come and watch our sport.''

Russia wins synchro team gold at Olympics

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Russia extended its dominance in synchronized swimming Friday, winning the team gold medal at the London Olympics - its fourth consecutive team victory and sixth straight overall gold. The Russians totaled 197.030 points with a free routine featuring swimmers doing acrobatic flips and pirouetting like ballerinas above the water. The team of Anastasia Davydova, Maria Gromova, Natalia Ishchenko, Elvira Khasyanova, Alexandra Patskevich, Svetlana Romashina, Anzhelika Timanina and Alla Shishkina swam in black, red and gold suits featuring a spider web design on the back. The Russians swam, flipped and kicked their way through the songs ''War'' and ''Step'' by Denis Garnizov. Their height, speed and synchronization were far superior to the other teams'. China earned the silver at 194.010, edging Spain by 0.89 point. The Spanish settled for the bronze at 193.120 four years after winning silver in Beijing. Wearing hot pink, purple and white suits, the Chinese marched in lockst

Failing Marriages, Dynasty Leagues, and Female-Friendly Porn: The KSK Sex & Fantasy Football Mailbag

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I wasn’t dating very actively before I lucked into meeting my wife, and the notion of being single now is foreign and terrifying. For one thing, as someone with a relatively large internet footprint, the idea of using Tinder or OkCupid gives me hives. And, as Aziz Ansari talked about on Conan in the video above, texting makes dating theoretically easy but actually kind of awful in practice. You single folk have my deepest sympathy. Good luck out there.Let’s get to your questions.Dear O-3 Caveman, First and foremost FF: My communist group of friends managed to not invite me to their league this year so I got nothing for ya.That’s a real bummer. I’m sorry.Sex: I’m a specialist in the Army (see:cavalry) based out of Ft. Hood, TX. So, I decided to marry my on again off again fling/really good friend for financial gains (insert witty meme about my stupidity here). Knowing I was about to deploy, having just bought a new truck, growing tired of the barracks, and my ETS date looming (June ...

Your Week 11 College Football Announcing Schedule

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Friday, November 13 9 PM- USC at Colorado (ESPN2) Dave Flemming, Mack Brown, Alison Williams Saturday, November 14 Noon- Ohio State at Illinois (ABC) Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman, Todd McShay (Compass Media) Gregg Daniels, Dale Hellestrae Noon- Georgia at Auburn (CBS) Carter Blackburn, Aaron Taylor, Jenny Dell (Westwood One) Brandon Gaudin, Derek Rackley Noon- Florida at South Carolina (ESPN) Mike Patrick, Ed Cunningham, Jerry Punch Noon- Maryland at Michigan State (ESPN2) Beth Mowins, Anthony Becht, Paul Carcaterra Noon- Texas at West Virginia (ESPNU) Anish Shroff, Ahmad Brooks Noon- Pittsburgh at Duke (ESPNews) Jason Benetti, Rene Ingoglia Noon- Kansas at TCU (FS1) Joe Davis, Brady Quinn, Kris Budden Noon- UTEP at Old Dominion (FSN) Brendan Burke, Ben Leber, Christian Steckel Noon- North Texas at Tennessee (SEC) Dave Neal, Matt Stinchcomb, Kayce Smith Noon- Tulane at Army (CBSSN) Ben Holden, Jay Feely, John Schriffen Noon- Purdue at Northwestern (BTN) Cory Provous, Glen Mason, Kara Lentz Noon- Middle Tenn

Everything You Need To Know About Synchronized Swimming With ANA Synchro

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Synchronized swimming is a whole lot more than water ballet … although water ballet actually sounds pretty hard. NESN.com’s Courtney Cox learned some synchronized swimming basics from ANA Synchro, an Andover-based synchronized swimming team led by Coach Leah Pinette, a nine-time U.S. National Team member. Check out the video above for more on the grace and athleticism of synchronized swimming.  Filed under: Courtney Cox, Keely Flanagan, NESN Video, Olympics, Top Stories

Japan's synchronized swimming duet free prelim good for 3rd

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Japan's Yukiko Inui and Risako Mitsui land in third place after their synchronized swimming duet free preliminary routine

Russia wins fifth consecutive synchronized swimming duet Olympic gold

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Russian synchronized swimmers Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina took their fourth Olympic gold medals and defended their 2012 duet title on Tuesday, out-scoring their nearest competitors by 2.6222 points. Ishchenko and Romashinas mermaid themed routine earned them 98.5333 points, combining with their technical program from Tuesday to win the gold with 194.9910 total points. They became the second Russian pair to repeat as duet champions, as countrywomen Anastasia Ermakova and Anastasia Davydova won in both 2004 and 2008.

Russia wins fifth consecutive synchronized swimming duet Olympic gold

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Russian synchronized swimmers Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina took their fourth Olympic gold medals and defended their 2012 duet title on Tuesday, out-scoring their nearest competitors by 2.6222 points. Ishchenko and Romashinas mermaid themed routine earned them 98.5333 points, combining with their technical program from Tuesday to win the gold with 194.9910 total points. They became the second Russian pair to repeat as duet champions, as countrywomen Anastasia Ermakova and Anastasia Davydova won in both 2004 and 2008.

Japan's synchronized swimmers secure bronze medals in duet

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Rikako Mitsui and Yukiko Inui took bronze medals in the synchronized swimming duet after completing their free routine

Russia’s Natalia Ishchenko, Svetlana Romashina win gold in women’s synchronized duet

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The Russian duet of Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina won the gold medal in the women’s synchronized duet free routine at the Rio Olympics on Tuesday with a 98.5333 for a total score of 194.991. The duo defended its 2012 Olympic gold medal-winning performance from London with the victory. Since 2000, the Russians have dominated the synchronized swimming duet competition. The Chinese duet of Huang Xuechen and Sun Kenyan placed second for the silver medal with a 97.0000 for a total score of 192.3688, becoming the highest-performing duet at an Olympic Games in China’s history. The bronze medal-winning performance went to the Japanese duet of Yukiko Inui and Risako Mitsui with a 94.9333 for a total score of 188.0547. Team USA’s duo of Mariya Koroleva and Anita Alvarez placed ninth overall with a 87.5333 for a total score of 173.9945.  [More from Excelle Sports: U.S. water polo cruises, Netherlands owns open water swim] The total score is determined by combining the synchronized ...

Russia captures team synchronized swimming gold for fifth straight Olympics

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For the fifth consecutive Olympics, a team from Russia won the team synchronized swimming gold medals. With this win, 2016 duet gold medalists Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina won their fifth career gold medals, tying the record for most gold synchronized swimming medals ever with their former teammate Anastasia Davydova. Fridays Angels themed free routine scored a dominating 99.1333 points, and was added to their technical routine score from Thursday for a total of 196.1439 points.

Rio aquatics recap: Ren Qian wins gold in platform diving

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Another night in Brazil, more water glory found! Here’s a rundown of it all from Thursday: Women’s Diving 10m Platform The Chinese continue to dominate the diving events in Rio with the women’s 10m platform diving. Fifteen-year-old Ren Qian of China won the gold medal with 439.25 points and her teammate Si Yajie, 17, won the silver medal with 419.40 points. Qian, the World Cup champion, is now the fourth-youngest diver ever to win gold in the women’s individual 10m platform gold. Canadian Meaghan Benfeito took the bronze medal with 389.20 points and Paola Espinosa of Mexico just missed the podium with 377.10. American Jessica Parratto missed the podium by placing 10th overall with 334.60 points after large splashes in her inward dive. Women’s Synchronized Swimming Team, Technical Routines Underwater air born splits in action: 8 teams of 8 swimmers competed in the preliminaries of the women’s synchronized swimming team technical routines. The Russians have won gold in the women’s...

Game Preview: Penn State at Pitt

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A rivalry is renewed after a long, 16-year hiatus. Penn State and Pitt both look to remain undefeated in the first contest between the in-state foes since 2000. Penn State (1-0) vs. Pitt (1-0) Kickoff: Noon, Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA The Betting Line: Penn State +6 TV: ESPN- Bob Wischusen (play-by-play), Brock Huard (analyst), Alison Williams (sideline) Weather: Warm and overcast, with highs in the low-80s and a chance of thunderstorms throughout the afternoon. COACHES: James Franklin: PENN STATE RECORD: 15-12, 3rd Year OVERALL RECORD: 39-27, 6th Year VS. PITT: 0-0 Pat Narduzzi: PITT RECORD: 9-5, 2nd Year OVERALL RECORD: 9-5, 2nd Year VS. PENN STATE: 0-0 ...NOW THE FUN PART PITT OFFENSE VS PENN STATE DEFENSE Pitt has one of the best running backs in the nation in junior James Conner, who made an emotional return after overcoming both a serious knee injury and Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis in 2015. Conner is a complete throwback- a hard-nosed runner who beats up...
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