By the time Crow, 27, gets home, she is exhausted. But come August, she is sure all the hard work will pay off. Crow notes that the U.S. National synchro team wasn't "on the podium" at a major world competition between the 1998 Goodwill Games and 2001, often coming in fourth or fifth behind Japan, Russia and other teams. In 2002 they started

turning the tide with a  third-place finish in the FINA World Cup in Zurich. Crow thinks this will really be their year to shine.

"I want to win," says Crow, who has been training with the Olympic training squad and the Santa Clara Aquamaids since January 2003.

The past few years have been rough ones for Crow. Her life changed on Feb. 16, 2003 when she had an early morning car accident on the way to a ski resort with her boyfriend Cody Tatro, a physical education teacher, and one of his students. Tatro and his student, 12-year-old Brett Slinger, died from injuries sustained during the one-car accident, and Crow suffered serious injuries as well. She broke bones in her back and her right arm was broken in four places, requiring a permanent plate and 11 screws. She was charged with two misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter for driving tired and speeding on a slick road. She pleaded no contest to the charges, and a judge ordered her to pay restitution to the Slinger family and serve 90 days in jail, which she will begin in October after the Olympics.

"It's definitely not something I've overcome," she said. "It's a part of every day. Cody was going to be a big part of my life after the Olympics and leading up to it. It's going to be even harder when the Olympics is over - we were going to be figuring out our lives together. Some days are harder than others. In the pool you kind of have to focus on the task at hand. It's gotten easier in the pool but harder getting out of the pool."

While her physical recovery pales beside the emotional toll of the two deaths, it was also an ordeal. Her arm was in a cast for three months and it took her several months more to regain coordination.

"It was really hard when I first started being able to use my arm," she said. "It wouldn't do what I told it to do. The hardest thing was getting the coordination back, it was frustrating. But I had a really awesome strength and conditioning coach, Dr. Don Chu. I don't think I would've made it back with anyone else."

Crow started synchronized swimming as a second-grader in her native St. Louis, with the Clayton Shaw Park team.

"I said, 'Mom, can I try this?'" she said. "I''ve been doing it ever since.

My first coach really loved synchro -- she put her heart into coaching. It made me really fall in love with the sport. I have to thank her for instilling that passion."

Soon after she took up the sport, the U.S. team won gold in solo and duet at the 1984 Olympics.

"I remember standing in front of the T.V. watching the gold medal performance," she said. "I said, 'That's what I want to do -- compete in the Olympics for the U.S. and win a gold medal.’ My mom was like, 'That’s this little eight-year-old talking.' But I kept talking about it, I kind of got set in my head from then on that that's what I wanted to do."

Finding a synchro team was a major factor when Crow and her mother moved to northern California when she was 10, after her mother was divorced. She represented the Walnut Creek Aquanuts from 1989 to 2001 before joining rival Santa Clara. She also took up swimming in Northern California, earning high school All-American status and specializing in the 500 free, 100 back and 200 I.M.

"My main focus was always on synchro, but I liked doing that as a side thing," she said.

She was an honor student at Diablo Valley College before transferring to U.C. Berkeley, where she is pursuing a degree in political science, communications and sociology. She also competed on Berkeley’s synchro team in 1998 and 1999.

Though she doesn't know yet what she wants to do for a living post-synchro, she thinks she wants to work with youth and give back to the community. Along with her own training, for 10 years she has been coaching the 12- and 13-year-old girls group at Santa Clara.

"I love being able to see young people have a passion for the same sport I'm

in, seeing their dreams, helping them achieve those in small steps," she said. "It's cool because I'm not just helping them technically, but also helping them develop character, who they are. A lot of times I see them six days a week for two and a half hours a day -- you don't see your parents that much. I find it really motivating to work with them."

She also worked in a law firm for two years to support herself financially. The difficulty of making  a living while training is one of the reasons she is likely to retire after this Olympics. So she wants to go out with a bang.

"Mentally I'm someone who really likes to connect with the team and be a unit with the team," she said. "If we can do that and not get sick of each other or get frustrated, if we can take things as they come, I think we'll be on the right track. I think we can do it."