Synchronized swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Women's duet
Synchronized swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics , Women's duet brought together 24 pairs from around the world inside the Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre across three evenings in late August. The competition ran from the 23rd to the 25th of August, with each night beginning at 19:30 local time. At stake was an Olympic title that one pair had already held for four years, and the question hanging over the pool was whether any rivals could close the gap.
Anastasia Davydova and Anastasia Ermakova, both representing Russia, entered Athens as reigning world champions. Their preliminary performance earned a technical score of 49.417 and a free score of 49.584, totaling 99.001 and placing them first among the 24 competing pairs. In the final free routine on the 25th of August, they pushed their free score even higher to 49.917, bringing their combined total to 99.334 points. The audience response was described as one of extraordinary impact, a reaction to what observers called an extraordinarily synchronous and impressive performance.
Miya Tachibana and Miho Takeda of Japan had been here before. Athens was their second Olympic Games, and they matched what they had done previously by finishing second again. Their preliminary scores of 49.000 in both the technical and free routines gave them a qualifying total of 98.000. In the final, a free routine score of 49.417 lifted their combined total to 98.417, a silver-medal result that extended Japan's duet streak across consecutive Olympics.
Anna Kozlova and Alison Bartosik of the United States entered the final ranked third in the qualifying phase with 96.918, and they held that position through to the end. Their preliminary technical score was 48.334 and their free score was 48.584. The final standings locked in 96.918 as their total, unchanged from qualification, placing them on the bronze-medal step of the podium.
The format divided the competition into two phases. In the preliminary round, each duet performed both a technical routine and a free routine; the combined scores determined which pairs advanced. Only the top 12 from the 24 competitors reached the final. In the final, pairs performed one free routine, and that score was added to their earlier preliminary technical routine score to produce the final ranking. Spain's Gemma Mengual and Paola Tirados finished fourth with 96.251, followed by France's Virginie Dedieu and Laure Thibaud in fifth at 95.584.
Beyond the top five, the field ranged widely. Canada's Fanny Létourneau and Courtenay Stewart took sixth at 95.334, while China's Gu Beibei and Zhang Xiaohuan climbed from eighth in qualifying to seventh in the final with 93.668. At the other end of the field, Australia's Amanda Laird and Leonie Nichols finished 24th in qualifying with 77.751, a score more than 21 points behind the leaders. The gap between gold and bronze was 2.416 points, while the gap from bronze to fourth was just 0.667, making the lower medal positions far tighter than the race at the top.
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Common questions
Who won the synchronized swimming women's duet at the 2004 Summer Olympics?
Anastasia Davydova and Anastasia Ermakova of Russia won the gold medal with a final score of 99.334 points. They were the reigning world champions entering the Athens Games and defended their Olympic title.
What was the final score for the Russian duet in the 2004 Olympics synchronized swimming event?
Davydova and Ermakova finished with 99.334 points in the final. Their score combined a preliminary technical routine of 49.417 with a final free routine of 49.917.
Where did the 2004 Olympics synchronized swimming women's duet take place?
The event took place at the Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre in Athens, Greece, from the 23rd to the 25th of August 2004.
Which country won the silver medal in synchronized swimming women's duet at the 2004 Summer Olympics?
Japan won silver through Miya Tachibana and Miho Takeda, who scored 98.417. Athens was their second Olympic Games and their second consecutive silver medal in the duet event.
Who won the bronze medal in the 2004 Olympic synchronized swimming women's duet?
Anna Kozlova and Alison Bartosik of the United States won bronze with a score of 96.918.
How did the scoring work for the synchronized swimming duet event at the 2004 Athens Olympics?
Competitors performed a technical routine and a free routine in the preliminary phase; the top 12 combined scores advanced to the final. In the final, one additional free routine was performed and its score was added to the preliminary technical routine score to determine overall rankings.