Artistic swimming hat-trick for Aleksandr Maltsev at World Aquatics Championships in Singapore

SINGAPORE – From a three-year absence on the international stage to three gold medals in four days, Aleksandr Maltsev has been on a historic winning streak at the World Aquatics Championships (WCH).

After claiming his maiden individual titles in both the men’s solo technical and solo free events, the neutral artistic swimmer from Russia pulled off his hat-trick on July 23, when he and Mayya Gurbanberdieva clinched the gold in the mixed duet technical event.

The pair delivered a stunning performance based on the New World theme that earned them the night’s highest score of 233.2100 points.

Spain’s Dennis Gonzalez Boneu and Mireia Hernandez Luna took silver (230.4634) with Italy’s Filippo Pelati and Lucrezia Ruggiero (228.0275) rounding off the podium at the Singapore Sports Hub’s WCH Arena. 

It has been a remarkable return to form for Maltsev, 30, who last competed in the world meet in 2019. Then, he and Gurbanberdieva took home the gold in both the mixed duet technical and mixed duet free events. 

Like other Russian athletes, he was excluded from the 2022 and 2023 world championships after World Aquatics suspended Russian and Belarusian athletes following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Though restrictions eased in 2024, allowing neutral participation, Russians opted out of the Doha meet.

Maltsev, however, did not squander his time in exile, instead choosing to hone his routines in preparation for the comeback to the international stage in his bid to add to his four earlier world titles. 

Speaking to The Straits Times after the competition, he said that the swimmers had been preparing “very hard” for the world championships. 

The mixed duet technical gold was not only a chance for Maltsev to reclaim his world title from 2019, but also a reunion with Gurbanberdieva, who he has partnered with for eight years.

“I am very happy that I can compete again with Mayya, because she is one of the best partners in the world,” he said, noting that his 26-year-old teammate had recovered from shoulder injuries. 

Maltsev, the first male artistic swimmer to win three titles at a single world meet since men first competed in 2015, is eyeing a fourth gold in Singapore when he takes part in the mixed duet free event on July 25 with Olesia Platonova. 

He said: “We created four routines, two solos and two mixed duets. One I did today with Mayya, and another I will do tomorrow with Platonova. It’s another routine, very difficult, very impressive, and we hope that we could show our best to surprise the judges.”

Meanwhile, Singapore’s artistic swimmers Debbie Soh and Yvette Chong put up a creditable showing in the women’s duet free preliminary round but missed out on a place in the final 12.

They finished 14th in the field of 36 pairs, with a new personal best score of 222.6152 – a big improvement from their previous mark of 184.8755 achieved at the Egypt leg of the Artistic Swimming World Cup in April. 

Spain’s Iris Tio Casas and Lilou Lluis Valette topped the qualifiers with 273.8950 points, ahead of Russians Maiia Doroshko and Tatiana Gayday (269.4688) and Italy’s Enrica Piccoli and Ruggiero (266.9571).

Soh said: “We entered this competition focused on making progress, but breaking the 200-mark exceeded all our expectations… To be just two spots away from the final is the closest we’ve ever come, and it’s a true reflection of how far we’ve come as a duet.”

The 27-year-old, competing in her eighth world championship, credited the improvement to trust and communication built with Chong over long training hours, plus support from coaches and the sports science team. The pair had also set another personal best during the women’s duet technical event earlier in the week.

Chong, 17, said: “Hitting another personal best was truly the cherry on top for me. To have two clean swims and set two new personal bests at the World Aquatics Championships – especially in front of a home crowd – made the experience incredibly special and unforgettable.”