Swimming: Hard slog the secret of synchro success

Lisa and Nina in action. Picture / Mark Mitchell

Putting gelatine in your hair might not sound particularly glamorous, but for "synchro chicks" Lisa and Nina Daniels it's just part of the pre-competition routine.

The Dunedin duo have shared a few of their secrets with the Weekend Herald in response to heightened interest in synchronised swimming - or synchro as the insiders call it - after they won New Zealand's first medal in the sport in 20 years at the Commonwealth Games.

Already, Lisa, who turned 21 this week, and Nina, 23, are being credited with a rush of girls clamouring to try synchro, but they should be warned - it's not all elegant waving of legs in sequined swimsuits.

The Daniels sisters' training regime is not for the faint-hearted.

"We train six days a week," says Lisa. "Each day consists of around five hours of water training [and] three days we do 1 hours of speed swimming. We also do three gym sessions - strength and cardio - for two hours."

As if that's not enough, there's also a stretch/yoga class and "land drill" - practising their routines on dry ground.

Synchro swimmers, who often have backgrounds in ordinary swimming or ballet, are assessed on choreography, use of music, synchronisation, difficulty and presentation.

The Daniels sisters design their own swimsuits and have different ones for each routine ("We design them to suit the music," says Nina ), but their makeup is nothing special ("We just wear normal makeup that you can buy at the pharmacy," says Lisa).

While looking good in the pool is crucial, Synchro Swim NZ chairwoman and international judge Sue Edwards says tartiness by competitors is not tolerated.

"If they've got excessive makeup, they're asked to tone it down."

Similarly, costumes must be appropriate - no bikinis and not too high-cut. "It's a sport. It's not a dance show," says Ms Edwards.

Gelatine to keep hair out of faces was normal and preferable to Vaseline jelly, which was used in the past.

"To get the Vaseline out, you had to have lemon juice."

Australian Annette Kellerman is credited with being the first "underwater ballerina", performing in a glass tank at the New York Hippodrome in 1907. Synchro became popular locally by the 1930s and the opening of Auckland's Newmarket Olympic Swimming Pool in the 1940s featured a display by a group called The Mermaids.

The sport retained a loyal following in ensuing decades but did not attain Olympic status until 1984.

Russia, Japan, Canada and the United States have traditionally dominated competition, but in recent years China and Spain have pushed the sport to dizzying acrobatic heights.

"What the girls were doing six years ago [is] light years behind what's happening now," says Ms Edwards.

Under international rules, men are not allowed to compete in the Olympics or world championships despite challenges to Fina, the international swimming body.

Ms Edwards said few New Zealand males wanted to do synchro without the ability to compete, but girls were lining up to try in the wake of the Daniels' bronze-medal success.

The evidence was in her choked email inbox when she returned from Australia this week.