Kiera Gazzard (born 5 November 2001) is an Australian synchronised (artistic) swimmer. Artistic Swimming made its

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

debut in 1984 (named Synchronised Swimming) and is one of only two events that is female only at the Olympics. Teams perform a 3-minute technical routine of five technical elements and a 4-minute free routine that emphasises creativity and choreography. Gazzard represented Australia at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

. The artistic swimming team consisting of Alessandra Ho, Kirsten Kinash, Rachel Presser,

Emily Rogers Emily Rogers (born 25 March 1998) is an Australian synchronised (artistic) swimmer. Artistic Swimming made its Olympic debut in 1984 (named Synchronised Swimming) and is one of only two events that is female only at the Olympics. Teams perform ...

Amie Thompson Amie Thompson (born 31 January 1996) is an Australian synchronised (artistic) swimmer. Artistic Swimming made its Olympic debut in 1984 (named Synchronised Swimming) and is one of only two events that is female only at the Olympics. Teams perf ...

, Carolyn Rayna Buckle, Hannah Burkhill and Gazzard were able to progress to the final, however, they finished ninth.

Early years

Gazzard was a keen swimmer from a very young age. When she was 8-years-old she watched the Artistic Swimming team training at her local pool. She decided to attend a ‘come and try' lesson and was recruited for the 12-and-under team. She trained at the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Emerald Synchronised Swimming Club. Keira then moved to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and trains at The

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Mermaids Club. In 2017, Gazzard competed at the

FINA World Championships The FINA World Championships or World Aquatics Championships are the World Championships for aquatics sports: swimming, diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and water polo. They are run by FINA, and all swimming events ar ...

as a member of the Australian team. Australia beat

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for the first time in six years. Gazzard set herself a goal to become the first Australian soloist to compete at the Junior World Championships and in 2018 she was selected to swim solo at the FINA World Junior Championships. As well as the Solo swim, she competed in the Duet and Team events. Gazzard suffered a major setback leading into the 2019 FINA World Championships when she was diagnosed with concussion when kicked in the head during a training session. This did not deter her and she continued training for the 2020 Olympics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gazzard, Kiera 2001 births Living people Australian synchronised swimmers Olympic synchronised swimmers of Australia Synchronized swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics