Olivia Federici and Katie Clark have today been announced by the British Olympic Association (BOA) as the two synchronised swimmers that will represent Team GB at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
The pair will compete in the duet event after securing a
quota place for Team GB at the Olympic qualification event in Brazil in March.
Both synchronised swimmers competed in the team event at London 2012– where they finished sixth – while Federici also went in the duet event four years ago and at Beijing 2008 alongside Jenna Randall.
The two synchronised swimmers had chosen to retire from the discipline after the World Championships in 2013 but returned to the sport late last year and will now be Team GB’s only representatives in synchronised swimming at Rio 2016.
Today’s announcement brings the total number selected athletes to Team GB to 65 from seven sports.
The selected athletes are:
Olivia Federici, 26, from Plymouth
Katie Clark, 22, from Reading
Olivia Federici said: “It’s a huge honour to be selected for Team GB for the Rio 2016 Olympics which will be my third Games and I am relishing the opportunity to compete in that environment again.
“Having already competed in the pool in Rio we can’t wait to return and show how hard we have worked to improve our routines over the last three months.”
Katie Clark said: "It's exciting to be part of Team GB again after being selected for Rio 2016 which will be my second Games.
"We've continued to work hard for the whole year and we know this isn't the end point as we are going to strive to be even better in Rio."
Mark England, Team GB Chef de Mission said:
“Katie and Olivia are welcome additions to Team GB for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and it’s great to include another aquatics discipline on the plane to Rio de Janeiro.
“They did fantastically well in March to secure a quota place for Team GB and they fully deserve the chance to compete again on the biggest stage of all.
“Both have competed at Olympic Games before and we welcome that experience and hope it can serve them well in August.”
Karen Thorpe, Synchronised Swimming Team Leader said: “The progress that Katie and Olivia have made since returning to the pool has been really exciting to see and today’s announcement is a testament to their hard work.
“Both athletes competed at the London 2012 Olympic Games together in the team event and this has created a strong bond between them that will only work to their benefit in Rio.
“They are the most experienced athletes and are strong role models for each and every athlete on the programme. Katie and Olivia have always shown a desire to improve and get stronger and I know this won’t change as we move closer to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.”