The second day of competition at the Paris World Cup featured a shorter schedule with three events, but no shortage of standout performances. 

Neutral Athletes B once again led the way, completing a clean sweep of gold medals, with Mayya Doroshko and Aleksandra Shmidt taking the free duet, Alina Rumyantseva and Zakhar Trofimov winning the mixed technical duet, and the squad closing the day with a commanding performance in the technical team final.

 

Free Duet

The day got underway with the free duet, featuring 22 pairs and, for many, a quick turnaround after the technical duet event just the afternoon before. It was another 1-2 finish for Neutral Athletes B, mirroring their dominance from the opening day.

Gold went to Mayya Doroshko and Aleksandra Shmidt, competing in their first season together. For Doroshko, it capped an extraordinary run: in less than 24 hours, she swam technical duet, free team, and now free duet, winning gold in all three. Shmidt, meanwhile, was also part of the gold-winning free team the night before. 

Their “Fear of Split Personality” routine, already successful with a win in the Medellin World Cup, once again proved its strength with an honestly incredible swim here, scoring 310.0214.

Silver went to their teammates Kira Cherezova and Valentina Gerasimova, who, much like the previous day, swam early and held the top position for most of the competition.

Also silver medalists in the technical duet, they scored 295.8262 and heavily leaned into difficulty with their “Shamans” routine, posting a 66.2 Degree of Difficulty, the highest seen internationally since the post-Olympic recalibration of the system.

 

Bronze went to France’s Laelys Alavez and Romane Lunel, much to the delight of the home crowd. Despite a small basemark on their opening acrobatic, the rest of the “Octopus” routine was strong, earning them the second-highest Artistic Impression score of the day. 

It’s a routine they have been building on since last season, having already taken silver in Medellin earlier this year, and placing in the top five at both European and World Championships in 2025.

“We’re happy with this medal, it’s another step in the right direction,” Lunel said. “We’re progressing little by little, and this medal means a lot, especially with such strong duets competing here. Of course, it’s a great color, but not quite the one we ultimately want (laughs)! 

We have a lot of competitions this year, with stops in Spain and Canada, and of course the European Championships. We’re showing up, showing our routines and getting more exposure, and we’ll be aiming to reach the podium at every competition.”

Also in the mix were Italy’s Enrica Piccoli and Lucrezia Ruggiero, the reigning European Champions and Vice-World Champions, who were back together for this event after being split up for the technical routine. 

Swimming last, they were strong contenders for the podium but unfortunately received a basemark on their second-to-last free hybrid for a missed connection, which ultimately dropped them out of medal position.

Technical Mixed Duet

The afternoon session opened with the technical mixed duet event, bringing together 10 pairs and continuing what had already been a busy and high-level competition.

And once again, it was Neutral Athletes B on top. Alina Rumyantseva and Zakhar Trofimov, the reigning European Junior Champions, claimed gold while making their first appearance on the senior stage. They delivered a standout performance with their “Crime and Punishment” routine, combining the highest DD of the event (35.55) with excellent execution, finishing with a score of 231.9159. 

Silver went to Kazakhstan’s junior pair of Yasmina Islamova and Aldiyar Ramazanov, who continued their upward trajectory after taking bronze in Medellin. Their “Corpse Bride” routine earned them 211.1267 and another strong podium finish at this level.

Colombia’s Emily Minante and Gustavo Sanchez earned bronze with a brand new routine set to “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish.

Scoring 207.9975, they were rewarded for a bold shift in direction, having moved on from their “Flamenco Fusion” routine, which they still showcased in Medellin a few weeks ago. The goal was to improve their artistic impression, build a stronger connection in the water, and develop a more distinctive, recognizable style.

“We are so happy, we worked so hard for that,” said Sanchez. “We have only been working on this new routine for two weeks, so it was a big challenge for this competition but it paid off. We had no basemarks and we won a medal, it’s great.”

Just one point shy of the podium were Chile’s Nicolas Campos and Theodora Garrido, delivering a clean and confident season debut.

Their new “First Love” routine was developed over the last few weeks and perfected during a recent training camp in the United States with Anna Voloshyna, and it stood out in particular for their pair acrobatics, notably the second which received four 10s; essentially a perfect score. They finished fourth with 206.9350.

For Great Britain, Isabelle Thorpe and Ranjuo Tomblin, reigning vice-European champions and gold medalists in Medellin, showed strong potential once again. Still a relatively new pairing, having only started competing together last year, they came in with the third-highest DD (35.15) and a routine set to “Magalenha” by Sergio Mendes. Despite receiving five 10s on their acrobatic elements, a basemark on the free hybrid ultimately took them out of podium contention.

 

Italy’s unfortunate run of misfortune continued in this event. Filippo Pelati and Lucrezia Ruggiero, bronze medalists at both the 2025 World Championships and the European Championships, presented a brand new routine to “Smooth Criminal” by Michael Jackson. 

With the second-highest DD (35.3) and their track record of last season, they were firmly in the fight for a medal, but a basemark on their hybrid, combined with a penalty for touching the bottom of the pool, also took them out of contention.

It’s also worth noting the continued innovation coming from Kazakhstan in terms of pair acrobatics. After Medellin, attention had already been drawn to the 2.6 DD full-twist element from Yasmina Islamova and Aldiyar Ramazanov.

Here, the second Kazakh duet of Artur Maidanov and Aiganym Saim pushed things even further, performing two original acros, including one rated at 3.0 DD (!). That element features Saim executing a full twist in a layout position (!) before tucking into an additional half… all above the water and powered by a single athlete underwater!

 

Technical Team

The final event of the day was the technical team, with eight nations taking part, and Neutral Athletes B extended their gold sweep.

The silver medalists from the Singapore World Championships returned with a noticeably refreshed lineup, featuring only three athletes from that podium team. With a brand new routine choreographed by Daria Aleksandrova, they presented “Backstage Romance,” set to a mix blending a Broadway-style take on Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” with touches of Britney Spears soundbites.

Swimming last and carrying the highest DD of the field at 50.20, they immediately stood out even before entering the water with their striking and ultra-shiny swimsuits catching attention. 

From there, it was an amazing performance that is honestly hard to put into words: immaculate TREs, sharp execution, and a routine that already looks remarkably complete at this stage of the season. The final hybrid, in particular, brought a powerful and technically demanding close. All in all, they delivered a routine that already raises the question of just how much higher their ceiling might be as the season progresses.

After a disappointing swim in the free event yesterday, Italy bounced back strongly here, delivering a clean performance of their “Queens of the Night” routine to take silver with 277.6866.

Bronze went to Greece, competing in their only team event of the meet. Their “Watch Me!” routine, choreographed by Mayuko Fujiki and carried over from last season, showed clear improvement, with strong energy throughout and no basemarks. 

“It’s a really important medal for us,” Sofia-Evangelia Malkogeorgou said. “We’ve put in a lot of work throughout the year, and we wanted to show it here. We have a young team, we want to keep progressing step by step, and I think we’re going to show the world how strong we are as Greeks.” 

“Working with Mayuko [Fujiki] has been amazing,” Vasiliki Thanou said. “She’s incredibly intelligent. We love working with her, she brings so much passion and energy, and we’re very grateful. We really appreciate her work ethic and the way she expresses herself through choreography, we love what she’s brought to the team.”

Scoring 274.7751, the Greeks bumped France out of the podium, who incurred a basemark on their opening acro, which ultimately proved decisive.

The U.S. team, silver medalists in Medellin, incurred two basemarks tonight on both of their free hybrids, which unfortunately dropped them to seventh place. The squad did nonetheless earn the second-best artistic impression of the evening.

 

ARTICLE BY CHRISTINA MARMET

Cover photo: Dimitris Mantzouranis / @shootinlights

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