The U.S. duet of Anita Alvarez and Mariya Koroleva (with alternate Alison Williams) will attempt to earn a spot in the Olympic Games this week by taking part in the Olympic Qualification Tournament, which runs from March 2-6 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Here's the latest on their quest:

Anita Alvarez, Mariya Koroleva, Alison Williams, Lolli Montico and Myriam Glez arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at 10:30 a.m. Sunday after a night on the plane and only a few hours of sleep. The group checked in to their hotel, dropped their bags and headed out to the swimming pool. A lot of federations are staying at the same hotel. It is already buzzing with the feel of competition!

The athletes are trying out one of their new Triflare swimsuit for their first practice in the warm-up pool. It is burning hot here – 95 degrees – and the athletes are tired from their travel but also eager to get in the pool to show off how much they have improved since the French Open.  

Today includes a light training for the three athletes: land drill, laps, technical warm-up, and lap by lap of both duets with music, video and corrections. Other countries are here too: Mexico, Switzerland, Great Britain, Ukraine and Italy. It is a good opportunity to observe how they are doing, too.

After music time, they moved to the competition pool to review the decks for both the tech and free routines. At 5:45 p.m. it is getting dark although it is still hot. The athletes end their day while Coach Lolli and Myriam are staying at the pool to watch the Spanish duet with Gemma Mengual and Ona Carbonell.