U.S., Canada bring rivalry to Chch

Press, 31 October 1979, Page 42

U.S., Canada bring rivalry to Chch

By

Kevin Tutty

Friends they may be out of the water, but when the synchronised swimmers from Canada and the United States meet at Queen Elizabeth II Park this week, they will be arch rivals. The two countries have enjoyed tremendous success in the sport over a long period and the competition between the two is intense. There is no doubt that they have the top swimmers in the world and thev are treating the fourth Pan Pacific championships with the samel seriousness that the All} Blacks are approaching their' matches in Britain. The competition is one of!

the main events on the syn-j chronised swimming calen- ■ dar. It ranks in importance i with the World Cup, introduced for the first time this ] year, and the Pan-American Games. Only the world i championships are more important. So Gail Johnson, the coach ; of the United States women, and Jojo Carrier, the coach : of the Canadian team and duet, have their charges at a competitive peak for the I event. ; At the last Pan Pacificl! championships in Mexico, in!; 11977, the United States won i; ithe team and solo titles and}; i Canada the duet. Each coach} ' I is hoping to scoop all three ■ I ! titles in Christchurch. H

Said Miss Johnston yesterday: “The girls are in better mental shape than they have been all year. They are well prepared.” The Americans must be confident of winning the team event at least. They have won four world championship team titles, three Pan Pacific titles and the inaugural World Cup, since 1973. The American soloist, Linda Shelley, will compete against the world champion, Helen Vanderburg, of Calgary. The latter was outstanding at the World Cup and world championships in West Berlin last year, but has swum before against Miss Shelley.

The Canadian duet is t ■ twin sister combination froir ; the Quebec Y.W.C.A. Club Lyna and Lyne Carrier an sisters of the coach, anc : have competed as a duet onlj : once before internationally They will strike an experienced combination in Miss Shelley and Michele Barone from the United States. Since the World Cup in Tokyo last August, the Canadians have changed their routines, said Jojo Carrier. Previously they were doing much more of their routines but felt the {marks they received did not {reflect the high degree of 'difficulty. I “We have changed our

routines since Tokyo and are : doing more flashy routines i which the judges seem to appreciate. What is the use of killing ourselves doing figures underwater if they are not appreciated?” The Canadians arrived on Saturday and have now adjusted to the Queen Elizabeth If Park diving pool. In Canada the swimmers are used to lines on the bottom of the pools where they train and compete. This helps them to maintain team patterns. But the Q.E.11 diving well has no lines and is also wider than the conventional swimming pools the Canadians use. Consequently they have had to work hard to perfect their team routine.