Japanese duo count on revamped programme

Japan's Miho Takeda and Miya Tachibana are counting on their revamped routine to topple the Russians and win their country's first synchronised swimming gold.

Japan's Miho Takeda and Miya Tachibana are counting on their revamped routine to the theme of "Japanese dolls" to topple the mighty Russians and win their country's first Olympic synchronised swimming gold.

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The Olympic silver medallists have been focusing on ways to impress judges and spectators alike with their performance which they will execute on the second of two days of competition from August 23-24, coach Masayo Imura said.

The duo had to modify the theme of their free routine from the largely inscrutable Japanese theatre of kabuki to a more general portrayal of "Japanese dolls" this year to make it an easier act to follow.

"It's not enough if you perform well and make no mistake. Your performance should have an impact. It's not only legs but also facial expressions that make an impression on the judges and spectators," she added.

The 2001 world duet champions admitted that it is not always easy to maintain the impetus throughout the routine, and explained that they had been working on improving this area.

"When you kick and move forward or when you pause for a breath after a long figure, you tend to return to your plain self. At that point, your performance is broken," said 27-year-old Takeda.

Her 29-year-old partner Tachibana continued: "As performances are getting more and more complicated, your mind tends to wander off to something else between moves. That is when your facial expression turns plain."

Synchronised swimming made its Olympic debut at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, with the United States and Canada dominating the sport until the 1996 Atlanta Games when Russia came out on top.

But Japan have been catching up and consistently collected bronze until the 2000 Sydney Games when Takeda and Tachibana finished second to Russia's Maria Kisseleva and Olga Brusnikina.

The Japanese beat an up-and-comimg Russian duo Anastasia Davydova and Anastasia Yermakova in 2001 to win Japan's first-ever world title, but bowed to the Russians again at the 2003 world championships.

"In Sydney, we tried to close the gap with Russia and they (judges) said we were close," Tachibana said.

"This time, we have concentrated on how to fight Russia."

Takeda said: "We realised in Sydney that we could aim to become number one. We have since arranged programmes to win and continued competing because we wanted to win."

The theme of their technical routine has remained as "sakura" (cherry blossom).

At the Olympic qualifiers in Athens last April, Davydova and Yermakova pushed the Japanese into second with a simple performance to Don Quixote.

Takeda and Tachibana also lead Japan's team bid to topple Russia.