Synchronised Swimming to make splash

The world's top Synchronised Swimming athletes take to the pool in the Duets tomorrow, and there are hopes that the sport will see a surge in popularity as it reaches a worldwide audience.

Great Britain's Synchronised Swimming team practises
Jenna Randall and Olivia Federici practise during a training session at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park.

Great Britain's Jenna Randall, who is paired with Olivia Federici, said the sudden exposure at the Olympic Games will be a welcome boost.

The 23-year-old said: 'It's great for our sport to have that because Synchronised Swimming hasn't been popular in Great Britain until we had the London 2012 Games here.

'Hopefully with this Olympics we'll have more children joining in and wanting to take part in Synchronised Swimming. So it's a great journey for our sport to have that support and people watching.'

She and 22-year-old Federici are part of Britain's eight-strong squad, including Randall's sister Asha, who will begin the Team competition on Thursday.

The Host Nation pair are not daunted by the prospect of competing in front of a big crowd.

Federici said: 'It's going to be positive knowing that everyone's behind you, everyone wants you to do well. Hopefully it will give us an extra boost.'

Randall and Federici competed together in a Duet at Beijing 2008 and came 14th, and last year were ranked ninth in the World Championships.

Key challengers for medals could be Russia, the USA, Canada and Japan, who have all done well at previous Olympic Games.