The intense daily training, three nerve-wracking Olympic qualifying competitions, a teammate facing manslaughter charges, an athlete just missing her Olympic dream and ultimately Olympic triumph are just some of the highlights of “Sync or Swim” a documentary film about the 2004 Olympic Synchronized Swimming Team.
Synchronized Swimming like fencing and other emerging Olympic sports are often overlooked in the US market and this film really brings home how many unheralded and unknown inspirational stories can be found in our Olympians and Olympic teams.
Director Cheryl Furjanic spent many months with the team beginning with the duet Olympic trials and gives a very insightful look at this sport and its athletes. The sacrifices they all make, one of them foregoing a full-scholarship to Stanford to pursue her dreams, others living with very little money while they train full-time.
(lft to rt.) Olympic Bronze Medalist Lauren McFall, Becky Tomsic, her husband and director Cheryl Furjanic take questions during Q&A session after Moma screening
The film covers the whole team, but focuses on three athletes: Russian born Anna Kozlova who has finished 4th at 2 Olympics and is pursuing her last chance at an Olympic Medal, Becky Tomsic who qualified for 2000, but then missed the games because of an injury and Andrea Nott, pursuing her first Olympic team.
If you want a great inside look at what it takes to be an Olympian, the inside scoop on this non-mainstream sport and to be inspired by some amazing women then this documentary is for you!
You can find out where it’s playing at: http://synchromovie.tumblr.com/
