Aldershot's synchronised swimming duo Jenna Randall and Olivia Allison took a huge stride in their bid for 2012 glory after an impressive debut Olympics in Beijing.

The British pair, who train at Rushmoor Synchronised Swimming Club, came 14th in the duet technical routine and duet free routine despite being the youngest competitors in the field.
 
Both Randall, 19, and Allison, 18, have halted their education to devote themselves to full-time training in which they will spent six hours a day in the pool and three in the gym.

But Allison insists it is a price worth paying to be able to compete against the world’s best in the iconic Water Cube.

She said: “We both stopped education for the short term but this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“You can go back to college and university but you will never get this sort of opportunity again.
 
“It is fantastic to do some different and not many people can say they have come to the Olympics.

“We were hoping to come top 16 so to come top 14 is brilliant. Getting nines in our score is a real milestone for us. In the last two years we have moved from getting sevens to nines. That’s a whole category of marks and we want to keep doing that.”

Coach Biz Price has already targeted reaching a final at next year’s World Championships but the real prize is in four years’ time.

And Randall, who won an individual silver at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, is adamant the duo will be pushing the sport’s big guns all the way in 2012.

“This Olympics it really was really for experience,” she said. “We are the youngest duet here so we are coming here without expectation and just to enjoy it.

“Progress in this sport is really slow, it can take you months of practice just to move it a small margin.

“We will be a lot stronger, technically better and our routines will have a lot more in it which will impress the judges. We want to be ranked top six by then and once you are there anything can happened.”

On Thursday, Aldershot, Farnham & District star Steph Twell begins her Olympic challenge in the 1,500m heats.

The Farnborough resident is making her Olympic debut in Beijing, and runs alongside GB team-mates Lisa Dobriskey and Susan Scott.

Lloyds TSB, proud first partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and supporter of Team GB on their journey to 2012.  For more information visit www.LloydsTSB.com/London2012