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Yekaterina Valiulina: Competing first at Baku 2015 was "big responsibility"

Azerbaijan's Yekaterina Valiulina admits that she felt the pressure of being the first home nation athlete to take to the stage in the inaugural European Games.

Dominika Tsyplakova has admitted that she is delighted to have made history by becoming the first competitor to take part in the inaugural European Games.

The 17-year-old, who is representing Belarus at Baku 2015, partnered Hanna Shulhina at the Aquatics Centre to finish in eighth place in this morning's opening duets qualification free routine event.

"I had a dream that there was a problem with my make-up and that it was messed up before the competition," Tsyplakova told reporters. "When I got to the competition, there was a mess with my lipstick."

Host nation duo Tatyana Nikitina and Yekaterina Valiulina received a strong applause when they entered the arena, scoring 71.433 for Azerbaijan to finish down in 18th place.

"It was a big responsibility and it was hard to handle," Valiulina said. "But the crowd in the stands helped us get through the emotion of the moment."

Team GB's Jodie Cowie and Genevieve Randall fared better, but could only secure a 12th-place finish.

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Genevieve Randall and Jodie Cowie of Great Britain perform their routine in the duet free routine final during day three of the Synchro Japan Open 2015 at Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Pool on May 4, 2015
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