Only a few weeks passed between the first training of the Lamothe-Verbinska duo and their debut on the international scene. Fifth at the Pan American Games in Santiago, the artistic swimmers are convinced that the event will serve as a springboard for the rest of their careers.
Audrey Lamothe and Olena Verbinska, aged 18 and 15 respectively, first took fifth place in the technical program on Tuesday, then they offered the fourth free performance on Thursday. Already, they felt more comfortable on their second outing at the Santiago aquatic complex, just two days after swimming there for the first time together in competition.
PHOTO PILAR OLIVARES, REUTERS
“We had to learn after our first event how we react together in competition, because it’s not the same as in training. It’s not the same environment,” explained Audrey Lamothe in the mixed zone, all smiles after receiving the score of 163.6458.
A result which brought their total to 361, 2458.
“In competition, you have to learn how to prepare, have the right volume in the warm-up and find what suits you. We seem to have found a good routine that we will be able to push further in the future. »
The Mexicans Nuria Diosdado and Joana Jimenez won gold in pairs thanks to a cumulative score of 486.0208. They also qualified for the Paris Olympic Games, the third for Diosdado and the second for Jimenez.
Americans Megumi Field and Ruby Remati earned silver with 451.6758 points, followed by Brazilians Laura Miccuci and Gabriela Regly Silva (390.2437).
Great potential
Lamothe and Verbinska had their work cut out for them heading into the Pan American Games. When they began their collaboration as a duo, the swimmers adapted their technical routine and created a new free routine to unite their respective strengths. Thursday was the first time they presented it to judges.
“We wanted to pool our strengths and create the best possible routine for the Pan American Games. I felt well prepared and confident. We did a lot of demonstrations in training and we worked on our technique every day. After a month, we were more than ready,” mentioned Audrey Lamothe.
Coach Lyza Yakhno was particularly enthusiastic about the duo’s potential after Thursday’s free skate.
“First of all, I want to say that I am extremely proud to be their coach,” said Yakhno, bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics with the Ukrainian team.
“I believe in them and they believe in me, that makes us a very good trio! They are two great young women, very hardworking and one day they will be on an Olympic podium,” she told Sportcom.
Audrey Lamothe and Olena Verbinska are also swimming the team events in Santiago which end on Friday. The country that wins gold will earn its place at the Paris Olympic Games. The Canadians will then prepare for the World Aquatic Sports Championships scheduled for February, the last opportunity to qualify in Paris.
“In a short time, they found a beautiful connection and made it their strength. Some girls may have difficulty finding such chemistry. They are young and just need time, more experience,” concluded Lyza Yakhno.
“It’s not fair to take one step at a time, we climbed four in one go!” » illustrated Audrey Lamothe.
“For the next competition, we will certainly have more confidence in ourselves. We started with something big and that reflects that our duo is strong. »