In Saint-Denis, France, China’s Wang Liuyi and Wang Qianyi took the lead in the duet technical routines in artistic swimming at the Paris Games with a score of 276.7867. Following closely behind were Austria’s Anna-Maria Alexandri and Eirini-Marina Alexandri in second place with a score of 267.2533, and the Netherlands’ Bregje de Brouwer and Noortje de Brouwer in third place with a score of 264.7066. The gold medal will be determined on Saturday night during the free routines.
Interestingly, the Wangs, de Brouwers, and Ukraine’s Maryna Aleksiiva and Vladyslava Aleksiiva are all twins, adding a unique element to the competition. The Alexandri sisters, on the other hand, are part of a set of triplets, showcasing the diversity and talent in the sport of artistic swimming.
The routines are judged based on execution, artistic impression, and the total degree of difficulty. Each routine, lasting 2 minutes and 20 seconds, must include five technical elements, two additional hybrids, and one-pair acrobatics. The Wangs, who performed last, impressed the judges and audience with their routine named “lotus,” earning a score of 102.1000 on artistic impression, the highest in the competition.
In addition to their success in the duet event, the Wang twins are already champions in the team event, having won gold with the Chinese team earlier in the Games. They have a history of success, having secured gold at the 2022 and 2024 world championships in both duet free and duet technical events.
Other notable performances included the Alexandri sisters from Austria, who delivered an energetic routine to Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” a fan favorite. The duo has previously won gold in the duet free competition at the 2023 world championships. The British pair of Kate Shortman and Isabelle Thorpe finished fourth, with a score of 264.0282, adding to their impressive silver and bronze wins at the 2024 world championships.
While Russia has historically dominated this event, they were not able to participate in the Paris Games due to the conflict in Ukraine. This opens up the field for other countries to claim the gold, marking a significant shift in the competition dynamics.
The sport, formerly known as synchronized swimming, was rebranded as artistic swimming in 2017 to attract a wider audience. However, some participants still refer to it as “synchro,” highlighting the challenge of adapting to the new name.
Looking ahead, there is a possibility of adding a mixed duet team event for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles to provide more opportunities for male swimmers to participate in the sport. This potential change could further diversify and enhance the artistic swimming competitions in the future.