China top artistic swimming medal table with four golds at the World Aquatics C’ships

SINGAPORE – Taking to the pool last at the World Aquatics Championships Arena on July 25, China delivered when it mattered most with a terracotta army-themed performance that clinched the team acrobatic title and consolidated their spot at the top of the medal standings.

Heading into the final event of the artistic swimming competition, China, Spain and Russia, whose athletes are competing under neutral status, each had three golds, all with a chance to finish first in the artistic swimming medal table.

In the end, it was the Chinese who prevailed, finishing top of the standings for the third time in four editions, with four golds and three silvers. Behind them were Russia’s neutral athletes (3-3-2) and Spain (3-2-4).

However, it was a far tighter contest than the 2024 world championships in Doha, where they claimed seven golds across 11 events.

Later that year, China also swept the duet and team titles at the Paris Olympics, with powerhouses Russia absent.

Cheered on by a near-capacity crowd at the 4,800-seat venue, the Chinese scored 229.0186 points. They were followed by the neutral athletes from Russia (224.7291) and Spain (221.0962).

China head coach Zhang Xiaohuan said: “Although the Chinese team won three team gold medals, I don’t believe the Chinese team possesses absolute dominance.

“Every competition is different and every competition presents different situations. Moreover, the new rules will be revised again starting next year.”

Expectations remained high after a strong showing at the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup Super Final in June, when China swept all team titles and secured seven golds on home soil.

An emotional Zhang shared that the team had faced challenges throughout their campaign – three days before they left for Singapore, Zhang Yayi fractured her foot and had to fly in a wheelchair.

On July 25, Xu Huiyan, who had won the women’s solo technical title earlier in the competition, came down with a high fever but still competed after taking medication.

When asked if she was satisfied with the medal haul, Zhang admitted that she had higher expectations but also noted that they were still a work in progress.

She said: “This is the current strongest performance of our team in this new cycle, with this new line-up. I expect us to have an even better performance next time.

“We are also in the process of exploring and we are learning from our opponents. It’s not like we’re absolutely confident and feel like we’re sure to win.”

Meanwhile, Russia showed they remain a force on their return to the world meet after missing three editions due to sanctions imposed by World Aquatics in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Aleksandr Maltsev led the charge for the Russians, contributing to all three golds, after winning the men’s solo technical and free, as well as the mixed duet technical title with Mayya Gurbanberdieva.

Russia’s Olesia Platonova said: “We are very happy to be here. Of course, we see a higher level of athletes, many more members and competitors, especially men’s artistic swimming, mixed duet – the level is higher year by year and this championships are a real celebration of that.”

Spain capped an impressive campaign with their team acrobatic bronze, just hours after Iris Tio Casas and Dennis Gonzalez Boneu won the mixed duet free title with a score of 323.8563. They finished ahead of neutral athletes Maltsev and Platonova (323.4438) and Britain’s Isabelle Thorpe and Ranjuo Tomblin (322.0583).

In Singapore, they delivered several historic results, with Tio at the forefront. She claimed Spain’s first women’s solo title with her win in the solo free and also contributed to the country’s first duet titles – both in the women’s and mixed duet free – alongside Lilou Lluis Valette and Gonzalez Boneu respectively.

They credited their performance to coach Andrea Fuentes, who returned home after guiding the United States to a team silver at the Paris Olympics.

The Spaniard, a former artistic swimmer, had not expected success to come so quickly, but emphasised that her team’s goals extended beyond medals.

She said: “Today, I told them in the morning, I don’t care if it’s gold, bronze, silver or 10th. What I want is when you finish and you say, ‘I did my best’, and that you make people enjoy, because otherwise you are not useful for society.

“Our job is to create this magic that inspires others – otherwise it’s useless, just legs in the water, for what? It’s so silly. But if the values that we represent are useful for others and make them feel stronger, then it’s useful and it’s much better than all the effort.”