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After watching the medal ceremony from the sidelines at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, the United States Synchronized Swimming Team got to stand on the podium Aug. 17 this year because they won the bronze in both the duet and team events at the games in Athens, Greece.
The third-place finish marked the team's first medal since 1996—when they won gold in Atlanta—and the first Olympic medals for Sunnyvale residents Lauren McFall and Sara Lowe. But even though they didn't win gold, rising two places from their fifth place finish four years ago was an epic feat in a sport that McFall says has few changes of power.
Leading up the games, the team had fought to get to their third place slot, behind first place Russia—who was a half point from a perfect score in this year's competition despite having to restart their routine due to problems with their music—and Japan, who won the silver.
Because the competitions were so late in the games—the team didn't begin competing until Aug. 26, almost two weeks after the opening ceremonies—they spent much of their time in Greece practicing their routine and watching athletes compete in other sports. Some members of the team are staying in Greece after the games for a post-games vacation.
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