Despite the Cold, Swimmers in Sync

Heat is more likely to be a concern in August, but wind and cold characterized a synchronized swimming Olympic qualifying event that began Thursday at the venue for the Athens Games.

The pool for the synchronized swimming is not the same one that will be used for swimming races. That one is still under construction.

Despite the conditions, scores were high for technical routines, which will count for 50% of final scores. The U.S. is tied for third with Spain in the team competition, and Alison Bartosik of Santa Clara and Anna Kozlova, a naturalized U.S. citizen from of St. Petersburg, Russia, were fourth among duets.

The duets will swim their free routines today, the teams on Saturday. The top four teams and duets after the free routines will qualify for the Olympics. The remaining teams and duets will swim another free routine Sunday to round out the Olympic fields. The top eight teams and top 24 duets will win berths.

Bartosik and Kozlova earned 95.167 points and trail leaders Anastasia Davydova and Anastasia Ermakova of Russia, 98.334; Miya Tachibana and Miho Takeda of Japan, 97.500, and Gemma Mengual and Paola Tirados of Spain, 95.833.

In the team competition, Russia leads with 99.000 points, followed by Japan, 97.667, then Spain and the U.S., each with 96.500.

At last year’s world championships, the U.S. team earned 96.167 points for its technical routine and went on to win a bronze medal.

Bartosik and Kozlova, who have been swimming together for two years, were fourth at the world championships and first at last year’s Pan Am Games.

In the Long Run

Marathon world-record holder Paul Tergat of Kenya won’t defend his Flora London Marathon title Sunday because of a calf injury. Tergat, who set the record of 2 hours 4 minutes 55 seconds at last year’s Berlin Marathon, already has been chosen by Kenya to compete at the Athens Games.

Without him, the field is led by defending champion and Sydney gold medalist Gezahegne Abera of Ethiopia and 2003 world champion Jaouad Gherib of Morocco.

Women’s champion Paula Radcliffe of Britain won’t defend her title, either, preferring instead to focus on her preparation for Athens. The favorites are Margaret Okayo of Kenya, Sun Yangjie of China and Geta Wami of Ethiopia.

Monday’s Boston Marathon won’t have any top U.S. marathoners, who are either resting after the U.S. trials or training for the 5,000 or 10,000 trials in July.

Lawyers Jump into the Pool

A possible happy ending for Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe has clouded over.

Thorpe, the Sydney Olympic 400-meter freestyle champion and unbeaten in that race since 1998, was disqualified from the 400 at his country’s trials because of a false start.

However, Craig Stevens, a 1,500-meter specialist who got the second Olympic team spot behind Grant Hackett, was said to be thinking about relinquishing the berth to Thorpe in response to the public sympathy for Thorpe.

The problem is, the Australian swimming federation’s rules call for a replacement to be the next ranked athlete, which would be third-place finisher Josh Krogh. But the federation is also supposed to select someone who’s on the Olympic team, and Krogh didn’t make it.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the swimming federation and the Australian Olympic Committee sought legal advice on how to proceed.

Here and There

U.S. men’s water polo captain Wolf Wigo injured his ribs during a training game in Italy last week and was expected to be out of the pool for about 10 days.... The U.S. Olympic canoe-kayak sprint trials will be take place this weekend in Oakland.

Usain Bolt of Jamaica, 17, set a world junior record in the 200 meters of 19.93 seconds last weekend at Hamilton, Bermuda. It’s also the fastest time in the world this season.... LaTasha Jenkins, ranked ninth in the world in the 200 meters and fourth in the U.S. last year, has quit running, according to USA Track and Field. Jenkins was a silver medalist in the 200 at the 2001 world indoor championships.

U.S. pair figure skating champions Rena Inoue and John Baldwin of Santa Monica will donate fees they were to earn from the Champions on Ice tour to the U.S. Figure Skating Assn.’s Memorial Fund. The fund gives financial aid to skaters, who are often burdened with heavy expenses as they climb toward the elite level. Inoue and Baldwin both benefited from the fund.