London 2012 Olympics: synchronised swimming team final in pictures

The weird and wonderful world of synchronised swimming as teams compete in the team free routine final at the Aquatics CentreAustralia's team looking confident ahead of their Free Routine final. They went for a remix of AC/DC hits, ending with one swimmer raised out of the pool making horn gestures while being lowered into the water, like Terminator in a bikini. They came lastTeam GB, making their Olympic debut with a Peter Pan theme, earned sixth place, their pre-Games target. Jennifer Knobbs said: 'We really felt like a team underwater. Hearing the crowd cheering, supporting us all the way, gives you a real boost.And this is how it's done. The Russians scored 197.030 points on the way to gold, doing acrobatic flips backed by the songs War and Step by Denis Garnizov. They have now won every duet and team gold since the Sydney Games. Anzhelika Timanina said: 'We have a lot of emotions. We are an amazing team.
''Like the Chinese routine, Japan's session included flying, but failed to impress. They ended without a synchronised swimming medal for the first time since the sport was introduced at the Olympics in 1984Canada, sporting the competition's best hats as part of their Cirque du Soleil routine, pose poolside before finishing fourthSilver medal winners China hurl one of their swimmers into the air where she 'rolled multiple times like a log' before hitting the water. A proper crowd pleaserAustralia's team prepare for a big move underwater. Years of training went into this. The crowd loved it – the judges less soSynchronised swimming humour: Canada strike a pose towards the judges. If footballers did this they'd be bookedPassion from Egypt, but not synchronised passion. They came second to lastJapan only managed to finish fifth despite a strong track record in the sport. In this athletic routine, swimmers aim to grab the fish from the trainer's hand. MaybeSpain's team set out their theme for the final: aggressive sea creatures in makeup. Their athletic and surreal mix of sea-based movements, imitating crab pincers and waves, won them bronzeMore from Spain's mirror-suited team. Impressive agility and poise on the way to winning bronze. It would have been silver but for a fractionally lower synchronisation score than their Chinese rivals,,