Jones and Nott Strike Gold
Duet Athletes Solidify Olympic Games Berth

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Christina Jones (Fremont, Calif.) and Andrea Nott (San Jose, Calif.) secured their trip to Beijing by earning the gold medal in the duet portion of the 2007 Pan American Games.

Today’s duet free routine wrapped up the duet competition at the Maria Lenk Aquatic Park. Jones and Nott represented Team USA with a score of 96.500. Canada took home the silver medal with a score of 95.833, while host country Brazil grabbed the bronze medal with a 91.166.

“You always hear about Pan Ams growing up,” recalled Nott. “Four years ago, Alison and Anna (Bartosik and Kozlova) won the duet (at the 2003 Pan American Games) and all I could think about was how we were standing in the same place”

The United States has earned every Pan Am duet title since 1955 with the exception of 1979 and 1999 in which Canada took home the crown, as well as every Pan Am team title with the exception of 1983 and 1999 in which Canada earned the title.

The Synchronized Swimming competition will crown the team champions on Saturday beginning on 10 a.m., followed by the medal ceremony.

Members of the 2007 United States Pan American Synchronized Swimming Team are as follows:

Brooke Abel (Fallbrook, Calif.), Janet Culp (Littleton, Colo.), Kate Hooven (Pleasanton, Calif.), Christina Jones (Fremont, Calif.), Becky Kim (Walnut Creek, Calif.), Meghan Kinney, (Mission Viejo, Calif.) Andrea Nott (San Jose, Calif.), Annabelle Orme (Walnut Creek, Calif.), Jillian Penner (Seattle, Wash.) and Kim Probst (Troy, N.Y.).

For more information or to arrange an interview with an athlete, contact Taylor Payne at 011-55-21 8890-3140 or taylor@usasychro.org. Results will be updated daily on www.usasynchro.org. For complete results visit http://www.rio2007.org.

Duet Free
1. Christina Jones, Andrea Nott (USA) 96.500; 2. Marie-Pier Boudreau Gagnon, Isabelle Rampling (Canada) 95.833; 3. Caroline Hildebrandt, Lara Teixeira (Brazil) 91.166