Duet of Lindi Schroeder, Anita Alvarez Win Twice in World Series Event

Anita Alvarez competes in the Solo Free Final on day six of the Gwangju 2019 FINA World Championships at Yeomju Gymnasium on July 17, 2019 in Gwangju, South Korea.

Lindi Schroeder and Anita Alvarez would love nothing more than to represent the U.S. in Tokyo, and the results of this weekend’s virtual FINA Artistic Swimming World Series competition should boost their confidence heading into the final qualifying opportunity in Barcelona. 
The two won both the technical duet competition on Saturday and the free duet on Sunday, making it the second time that they have swept the categories in virtual competition this year.
Back in February, they scored an 84.9333 in the technical category and 83.4588 in the free. As was the case in that competition, this weekend’s world series “stop” in Canada consisted of pre-recorded routines. This time, they scored 84.6649 in the technical, performing to a modern version of “Fur Elise,” on Saturday. On Sunday, their free routine garnered a score of 86.333, not only bettering their score earlier this year, but also beating the Spanish duo of Gema Arquero Ortiz Gabriela Fernandez Ceppi. Scores are based 40 percent on artistic impression, 30 percent on execution and 30 percent on difficulty. 

Schroeder and Alvarez were named the U.S. duet team for Tokyo back in October 2019, but they still need to qualify. Alvarez competed at the Olympic Games Rio in 2016 and finished ninth in duet. 

Alvarez also competed in the solo free on Sunday and finished second with a score of 87.0667 behind Canada’s Jacqueline Simoneau. 
The U.S. team was scheduled to fly to Barcelona on Sunday to get ready for the last chance to qualify for the Olympic Games Tokyo. A total of 34 countries will be competing at the Artistic Swimming Qualification Tournament from June 10-13, with the hopes of capturing one of seven qualification spots up for grabs in duet and three remaining spots in team competition. The U.S. will look to qualify in both.