hile most people were still celebrating the holidays this past January, synchronized swimmers Anna Kozlova and Alison Bartosik were thinking 2004 Olympics after winning the duet competition at the 2003 U.S. Olympic trials in Seattle.
By virtue of winning their event, Kozlova and Bartosik became the first two Olympians named to the 2004 Olympic team.
Kozlova, a native of St. Petersburg, Russia, and Bartosik, a Flagstaff, Ariz., resident, scored a 96.417 to win their event by three points. The pair was considered the early favorite after placing fourth at the 2002 World Cup in Zurich last September.
For Kozlova, it will be her third Olympics. In 1992 in Barcelona, Kozlova, 30, competed for the Unified Russian States; in 2000, she made the U.S. team. “Going to the Olympics is an equally amazing and scary experience,” she says. “I can’t wait.”
Bartosik, 20, will be making her Olympic debut. “Anna has taught me a lot over the last two years about competing internationally,” she says, “and I look forward to learning a lot more as we build toward Athens.”
The duo is part of the cadre of nine athletes who will be named in early 2004 to represent the U.S. in the team competition at next year’s Olympics.
