Olympic Trials / Synchronized Swimming -- Near-Perfect Kozlova, Middaugh Win Duet Title

FEDERAL WAY - Tuesday Middaugh promised Friday night that for the crucial free-swim phase of their duet competition at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, she and partner Anna Kozlova would roll out the heavy artillery.

"Our routine will be very complex and very challenging," she predicted. "We'll use split rockets, double rockets, a triple rocket, even. We've made it difficult, and we believe we can perform it well."

Middaugh and Kozlova made believers of 10 judges and an enthusiastic crowd yesterday at King County Aquatic Center.

By a mere .233 of a point, Middaugh and Kozlova edged returning Olympians Tammy Cleland-McGregor and Heather Pease to earn the right to swim the duet for the United States at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

Demonstrating the same explosive power and flexibility that lifted them to the duet title at the national meet April 24, Middaugh and Kozlova scored a 64.306 (of a possible 65), edging the 64.176 posted by Cleland-McGregor and Pease.

All four swimmers qualified for individual spots on the 13-member Olympic training team, also announced yesterday. After the summer's international competition is finished, the team begins training for Sydney on Oct. 11.

For Kozlova and Middaugh, the achievement was a triumph of perseverance.

Middaugh, of Riverside, Calif., underwent knee surgery 19 months ago following a training injury.

"I visualized this moment every day," Middaugh said with a laugh. "I knew it would feel great, and it does."

Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Kozlova placed fourth in the duet for her native country in the 1992 Olympic Games. She first visited the U.S. in 1993 and moved here for good in 1994.

Her position on the Olympic team is contingent on approval of her application for U.S. citizenship. Middaugh's uncle, an immigration law specialist, filed paperwork for Kozlova on Wednesday, the first day she could legally file.

"I don't know anyone on this team who feels like I do," Kozlova said. "For me, it is a dream come true."

Kozlova, a four-time U.S. national champion, posted the highest individual score of the 13 training team qualifiers. Middaugh placed eighth.

Together they performed a mesmerizing fire-and-ice-themed routine that was part classical, part mystical and consistently dazzling.

"That was one of our better swims ever," said Kozlova, who has been Middaugh's partner since late 1997. "We feel very good about it."

U.S. Coach Chris Carver, who coached the 1996 gold-medal team, says he feels good about the U.S. Olympic team, which will battle Russia, the current world champions, in Sydney.

"I think the strengths are very comparable," Carver said. "This team gets up out of the water very high, maybe even higher than the last team.

"The other team had a little bit more experience, but we have three past Olympians on this team, so I think that gives us a nice mix."

The mix will include Gleland-McGregor and Pease, part of the eight-member 1996 squad that swam a perfect free routine in Atlanta.

Cleland-McGregor, while disappointed over the duet result, said she and Pease will fit in with the team.

"Anyone who knows us knows that we have very blendable personalities," she said. "We will be a positive addition to the team."

Perhaps the most heart-rending scene of the day was the sight of Bill May, the pioneering male entry on the National Team, sobbing into the shoulder of teammate Brynn Butzman after the Olympic training team was announced.

May, a national duet champion (with Kristina Lum) in 1998, is not allowed to compete internationally in the sport, where women-only rules prevail.

"I'm happy but I'm sad," he said. "It's just that my entire team is up there. I'm getting to watch them fulfill their dreams and go to the Olympics for something they've put so much time into.

"I spend so much time with them, and I'm so happy for them to see 15 years of work pay off. Still, it can make me a little sad."