Mentored by Masayo Imura, a famed Japanese coach, the twins were prepared to improve upon the 7th place from Athens to win a medal at their home Olympics.

They trained nine to 10 hours every day, and had to drop their favourite spicy foods for fearsome amount of cheese and dessert to improve strength.

In their Olympic debut on Monday, the twins marched in unison upon a blue carpet to boisterous cheers of the spectators. Wenwen said the cheers were so loud that they nearly drowned the music.

In Wednesday's final, their free routine was performed to a music piece called "Flying", in which they simulated peacocks and used thin legs to form a square, a unique element that won acclamations in the fully-packed stadium.

Their three-minute performance impressed the crowd, but was only rated 93 percent of their level by coach Imura. "They make an error in the end, and of course there were regrets. We had aimed to win a medal," she said.

"But they are still part of a bigger team and they still have to give it all in the team competition to get a medal," she said.

The team routine is the second medal event in the synchronized swimming discipline. The final is scheduled on Saturday.

(Xinhua News Agency August 21, 2008)