Day six in Singapore was all about the duets, with attention split between the only final on the schedule, the technical mixed duet, and the women’s free duet preliminary in the morning session.
Neutral Athletes Aleksandr Maltsev and Maya Gurbanberdieva reclaimed the world title in the technical mixed event, marking their first international outing together since 2019. In the free duet preliminary, 36 pairs competed for a place in tomorrow’s final, and it is Spain’s Lilou Lluis and Iris Tio who currently lead the field.
Technical Mixed Duet Final
A field of 14 mixed pairs took to the pool for today’s only final, with the podium ultimately featuring familiar European nations. Like in the men’s solo events, the mixed duets do not go through a preliminary round and have only one opportunity to showcase their routines in Singapore.
Maya Gurbanberdieva and Aleksandr Maltsev (Neutral Athletes B) returned to their dominance, adding another World Championship title to their résumés with a commanding win. Their routine “Devolution into a New World” opened the event and immediately raised the bar. Technically superb and with notable ease in the Technical Required Elements, the Russian athletes earned 233.2100 points.
Maltsev, fresh off his double gold in the solo events, now holds seven World titles; Gurbanberdieva, three in this event alone. The two last competed together, and won, in this discipline back in the 2019 World Championships, and reclaimed the top spot once again.
“In 2019, we had a lot of competitions: five stages of the World Series, the Super Final, the first World Championship in my career,” Gurbanberdieva told the news agency TASS. “But that year was still not as emotionally difficult as this one. I can’t reveal all the details, but for me this medal is now one of the most important ones, I am very glad that everything worked out.”
While Maltsev had already gotten to jump in the competition pool twice, it had been a long wait for Gurbanberdieva who, ultimately, will only get to swim once in Singapore. In the free mixed duet routine, she will be replaced by their teammate, Olesya Platonova, who will make her World Championships debut.
“It was very difficult for me to wait all this time to compete,” she said. “I love to perform so I already wanted to go out on the platform, do my routine. Fatigue had accumulated, including because of the climate and the heat. Emotionally, of course, it was also difficult, because Sasha completed two solos, and I was simply exhausted after his starts. I will be rooting for him and Olesya in the free program, I will be with them, emotionally, of course. I am telling you, I was squeezed like a lemon during the solo. And I know Olesya is also sitting, waiting and exhausted from waiting. This is her first World Championship, so, of course, it is emotionally difficult for her. In any case, I will give them my nerves, my support, all my remaining strength.”
Silver went to Spain’s Dennis Gonzalez and Mireia Hernandez for their super energetic and powerful “Hip Hop” routine with a score of 230.4634. Fourth in the 2024 Doha World Championships, the pair have been consistent all year, claiming gold at the European Championships and the last three World Cup stops.
They have been competing together since 2023, but this is their first world medal in this technical event. This also marks Spain’s sixth medal in artistic swimming at these championships.
“We are very happy and very proud of our performance,” Hernandez said. “We tried to keep our artistic impression at the highest level, and we tried to show it to all the people watching us. We have been working together for two to three years. We are very happy and proud of our improvement. We have chemistry in the water so we understand each other very well during duets.”
Italy claimed bronze with a “The Beat”-themed routine from Filippo Pelati and Lucrezia Ruggiero, who scored 228.0275. Despite being in their first season together, the two have gelled quickly, winning bronze at the European Championships, and now again on the world stage.
Ruggiero, an Olympian and two-time World Champion in this event in 2022, adds yet another accolade, while Pelati earns his second bronze in Singapore, following his free solo medal.
“I prefer this medal, as it has a different meaning for me,” Pelati said. “This is because it’s a duet technical medal, with my new partner. I really enjoyed the moment, and didn’t overthink. So, this medal is for all the training with Lucrezia.”
The defending World Champions, Nargiza Bolatova and Eduard Kim of Kazakhstan, delivered an engaging and expressive “Tango” routine, but a basemark on their required hybrid dropped them to seventh.
The mixed duet from Chile, with Nicolas Campos and Theodora Garrido, impressed with high execution scores, notably earning a remarkable seven 10.0s across their two pair acrobatics, the most of the field. However, an 8-point penalty for not including different connections in their required hybrid saw them drop to eighth.
Also noteworthy was the appearance of the Curacao mixed duet, a milestone for the nation on the world stage and a reminder of the sport’s growing reach.
Free Duet Preliminary
The day began with the free duet preliminary, where 36 pairs vied for a spot in the final. The top three after this round are all European, though many finalists will be hoping to improve on errors tomorrow.
Spain’s Lilou Lluis and Iris Tio sit atop the standings with 273.8950. Swimming to a theme of “Essence of Femininity,” this young pair is in their debut season together, but already looks formidable together and carry strong momentum into the final.
Neutral Athletes B, Mayya Doroshko and Tatiana Gayday, are in second with 269.4688. Unveiling their new “Split Personality” choreography, the pair presented an emotionally driven routine, one marked by vulnerability and complexity, with an expressive choreography exploring themes of fear and internal conflict.
Italy’s Enrica Piccoli and Lucrezia Ruggiero, the reigning European Champions also in their first season together as a duet, rounded out the top three with 266.9571 for their “Hypnosis” routine.
The preliminary saw numerous basemarks, including for the pairs of China, Japan, Mexico, Greece, and Canada. They all still qualified to the final and will aim for cleaner swims in the final.
Canada, with the highest declared difficulty (61.90), unveiled a new “Mental Health”-themed routine, aimed at raising awareness around mental wellness in sport. Olympian Audrey Lamothe and newcomer Ximena Ortiz Montano are competing together for the first time at a World Championships.
Notably absent were Austria’s Anna-Maria and Eirini-Marina Alexandri, the reigning World Champions in the technical duet. The pair have chosen to focus solely on that event this year, citing the late hiring of their new coach and Eirini-Marina’s recovery from minor shoulder surgery last winter.
The 12 duets qualified for the final are Spain, Neutral Athletes B, Italy, Japan, France, People’s Republic of China, Ukraine, Mexico, Germany, Greece, Canada and Great Britain.
The free duet final is scheduled for tomorrow, July 24 at 7:30 pm local.
ARTICLE BY CHRISTINA MARMET
Cover photo: Giorgio Scala/ Deepbluemedia
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