U.S. Duet Wins Bronze Medal

ATHENS, Greece – It was an amazing night for the U.S. duet of Alison Bartosik and Anna Kozlova. Finishing no higher than fourth place for the past three years, the duo took a step up and claimed the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympic Games.

“This is our first medal as a duet,” said Bartosik. “We are fortunate to have it be at the Olympic Games.”

The U.S. pair had finished fourth behind Spain at both the 2003 World Championships and the Olympic Qualification Tournament in April of this year. But with hard work and dedication, the duo stepped up to the challenge scoring a final composite 96.918, while Spain finished at 96.251.

Continued Bartosik, “Everyone at this level swims and trains so hard, so it comes down to the small things that make the difference.”

Head coach Chris Carver was very pleased with the outcome.

“They swam really, really good tonight,” said Carver. “They had a couple of timing things, but it was pretty flawless. I am so proud of them.”

On her third try, Kozlova finally has a medal around her neck. “I have been to three Olympics,” said Kozlova smiling. “I now have medal.”

Russia claimed gold scoring a final composite 99.334, while Japan captured silver at 98.417.

The team event kicks off Thursday with the team technical routines. Competition wraps up Friday with the final free team swim.

Duet Final
1, Anastasia Davydova, Anastasia Ermakova, Russia, 99.334. 2, Miya Tachibana, Miho Takeda, Japan, 98.417. 3, Alison Bartosik, Anna Kozlova, United States, 96.918. 4, Gemma Mengual, Paola Tirados, Spain, 96.251. 5, Virginie Dedieu, Laure Thibaud, France, 95.584. 6, Fanny Letourneau, Courtenay Stewart, Canada, 95.334. 7, Beibei Gu, Xiaohuan Zhang, China, 93.668. 8, Beatrice Spaziani, Lorena Zaffalon, Italy, 93.250. 9, Eleftheria Ftouli, Christina Thalassinidou, Greece, 92.918. 10, Magdalena Brunner, Belinda Schmid, Switzerland, 91.418. 11, Iryna Gayvoronska, Darya Yushko, Ukraine, 91.251. 12, Carolina Moraes, Isabela Moraes, Brazil, 90.917.