Brazilian woman puts on a show on the water.
Athlete Giovana Stephan impressed judges with her solo performance at the Brazil Open synchronized swimming competition this morning in Rio de Janeiro, securing the third-best score in the competition.
247 - To the sound of the blues of American singer Janis Joplin, Giovana Stephan gave a show of beauty and technique this morning in the first appearance of the athletes at the Brazil Synchro Open – a synchronized swimming competition that began this Friday and runs until Sunday at the Júlio de Lamare Aquatic Park in Rio de Janeiro. Giovana scored 85.476 points and had the third best score in the solo technical event. She was just behind American Mary Killman, who came in second this morning with 88.225. The best of the day was Canadian Marie-Pier Bourdreau-Gagnon, who scored 93.813 points. The scores are not final as they are added to the free solo score, which will be contested next Saturday.
“I really like this floor exercise, but there are still things to improve, both technically and artistically. This competition here is great because it’s an opportunity to showcase the discipline, to encourage beginners, and to promote swimming more. It’s also happening at an important time because we’re finishing our training for the World Championships and the Pan American Games,” declared Giovana.
The Brazil Synchro Open brings together some of the world's best synchronized swimming teams. Brazil, Canada, France, the United States, Germany, Argentina, and Aruba compete in the event, which aims to become an annual event.
Brazil enters the competition with the routines that will be used in the World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai in July and the Pan American Games in Guadalajara in October. This will be an important opportunity to compete against opponents in both competitions – the United States, Canada, Argentina, and Aruba – and to see what France and Germany, nations that will compete in the World Championships in China, are preparing.
The Brazilian National Team is composed of Giovana Stephan (solo, team and reserve duet), Lara Teixeira and Nayara Figueira (duet and team), Lorena Molinos, Maria Eduarda Pereira, Michelle Frotta, Pamela Nogueira, Jéssica Noutel, Josiane Martins and Maria Bruno (team). Andreia Curi is the duet coach and Maura Xavier and Roberta Perillier coach the team.
From rock to forró, from robotics to the mannerisms of 'Catwoman'. Brazil will have routines (choreographies) with a high degree of difficulty that have been perfected over months so that the country can rise to higher levels in the challenging world of high-level swimming. “We changed a lot in the routines. After our participation in the open championships in Germany and France (in March of this year), we saw that we needed to increase the level of difficulty. We added a lot of new things,” said the coordinator of national teams at CBDA, Mônica Rosas.
Three medals are at stake in the floor exercise, duet, and team events. Each event is divided into two: technical and free routines. Technical routines have a shorter execution time and contain mandatory elements. Free routines, as the name suggests, allow for greater creativity and are longer.
One of the highlights of the competition, soloist Giovana Stephan paid homage to Janis Joplin in her technical routine and used 'Catwoman' as the theme for her free routine. The technical duet of Lara Teixeira and Nayara Figueira will present a selection of Brazilian songs – Mix Brasil. For the World Championships and the Pan American Games, there will be a special element in the choreography: swimsuits designed by the visual artist Romero Britto.
In addition to the technical aspects, the duet will also have a rock vibe with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, founded by Paul O'Neil, guitarist for the productions Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar. The teams will incorporate the very Brazilian forró rhythm in the technical routine, and the world of technology and robots in the free choreography.