First FINA worlds athletes arrive in Kazan

Today the Kazan International Airport welcomed first participants of the 16th FINA World Championships. Synchro swimmers from Team Australia arrived in the host city earlier than the rest. 15 athletes make the team from the Green Continent.

Fans, volunteers and journalists greeted the Australian synchronised swimmers at the airport. Their arrival stirred interest in the sporting community and attracted federal and regional media attention. Despite a tiresome flight and jet lag, the guests of Tatarstan’s capital city were delighted to exchange a few words with reporters. In particular, synchro swimming team captain Bianca Hammett admitted that after a wintry weather in Australia she was very pleased to feel the warmth of summer in Kazan.

“First we were training in Canberra, then we moved to Melbourne, next stop was in Dubai and finally we are in Kazan. Our expectations from the World Championships? We hope to earn a qualifying spot for Rio2016. This is our principal task for the upcoming Championships. We are not sure yet about whether we’ll succeed or not but we are definitely going to do our best to pull it off. Our team is full of youngsters, most of us will compete at these Championships for the first time. We’ll try to get as much experience as we can and qualify for the Olympic Games. Our principal rival is New Zealand’s national team, not the Russian one as you may have implied. The host team is in a league of its own, they perform incredibly. As for the weather, it is winter now in Australia and here it is summertime. We are going to enjoy it,” Bianca Hammett commented.

The Australian national synchronised swimming team was taken straight to the Athletes' Village, where they will live during the Championships. Starting from tomorrow, the Australian synchro swimmers begin their training sessions in the Akcharlak Swimming Pool. Their competitions are scheduled to start at the Kazan Arena Stadium a week from now.