INDIANAPOLIS – Recent world champion Bill May (Cicero, N.Y.) continued his strong showing in the pool Tuesday, finishing first with partner Kristina Lum Underwood (Las Vegas, Nev.) in the mixed duet free preliminary at the FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia.
May and Lum Underwood, a 2000 Olympian, scored 90.5000 points to take a slight lead over Russia’s Aleksandr Maltsev and Darina Valitova, who had 89.3667 points. France’s Benoit Yves Beaufils and Virginie Dedieu are in third with 88.5333 points.
“Today felt great to have the opportunity to show our free program,” May said. “It was amazing to show another side of the mixed duet, showcasing the artistic elements involved.”
Added Lum Underwood: “We are looking forward to an even better, more exciting swim in finals.”
May partnered with Christina Jones (Fremont, Calif.) on Sunday to win the first-ever mixed duet technical gold medal in a FINA-sanctioned event.
The mixed duet free final is Thursday.
The U.S. duo of Anita Alvarez (Kenmore, N.Y.) and 2012 Olympian Mariya Koroleva(Concord, Calif.) are in 11th place after the duet free preliminary on Tuesday, having scored 84.4333 points. The final is Thursday. Alvarez and Koroleva finished 12th in the duet tech final on Sunday.
Team USA is in 12th place after the team free preliminary. The U.S. scored 84.6333 points, less than a point behind Brazil (85.3333) and Greece (85.5667). The team free final is Friday.
“The team had a very good swim today. All the lifts are working and they had cleaner patterns,” U.S. national team coach Myriam Glez said.
The U.S. team members competing in the team free event are: Anita Alvarez (Kenmore, N.Y.); Claire Barton (Los Gatos, Calif.); Mary Killman (McKinney, Texas); Mariya Koroleva(Concord, Calif.); Isabel Malcolmson (San Jose, Calif.); Sandra Ortellado (Walnut Creek, Calif.); Karensa Tjoa (San Jose, Calif.); and Alison Williams (Northridge, Calif.);
Universal Sports Network is providing same-day delay coverage of synchronized swimming Wednesday starting at 7 p.m. (ET). In addition, UniversalSports.com will live stream the women’s solo free final starting at 10:20 a.m. (ET).
Swimming news courtesy of USA Synchro.