Sync and swim
news@tepuketimes.co.nz first time, taking second to Zyleika in the solo. With Zyleika she won the 13-15 duet, and was second in the 13-15 team.
Still eligible to compete as a junior, she won the junior tech solo and free solo titles and was part of the senior team that won the free team title and the open free combo.
Karlina got into synchronised swimming after her mum, Kylee, saw an article in a newspaper. Having done gymnastics, Karlina liked the idea.
They laugh now when they say they thought it would be fun and they wouldn’t have to drive to Baywave a lot.
Karlina trains four times a week — up to 31⁄ hours per training sessions.
“Once I get into training I have to switch off everything — forget about school, forget about everything else and just focus on the training.”
Away from the pool she gets to the gym as often as she can and has to go through each routine to learn it.
“Last year I only had two routines, but this year I’ve got eight — and that’s a lot to remember for a 14-year-old girl,” she says. The routines are all written down. “Most of them are about five minutes long and I have to go through every single count. We have land drills, out of the water, too, to get the synchronisation.”
The recent trip to the US was as much about learning from others as it was about competing with many Olympic synchro swimmers at the event.
Karlina is a virtual shoe-in for the New Zealand team to compete in international events in Argentina and Brazil last in the year, and she hopes that will lead to a place in the New Zealand team that will attempt to qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Japan.
Also coming later in the year are the national championships in October.