Germany’s 21-year-old Klara Bleyer and Italy’s pairing of Lucrezia Ruggiero and Filippo Pelati secured impressive wins at the second leg of the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup in Paris.
Bleyer, who had earned silver in the women’s solo technical event behind Vasilina Khandoshka of Neutral Athletes A, reversed that result in the women’s solo free, where she totalled 276.8925 to her rival’s 268.5427, with 16-year-old Valeriia Plekhanova of Neutral Athletes B securing a second solo bronze.
World bronze medallists Ruggiero and Pelati could only manage 10th place in the mixed duet technical after incurring a base mark, but they recovered to take gold in the mixed duet free with a score of 256.0033 ahead of Colombia’s Gustavo Sanchez and Emily Minate.
Bronze went to Great Britain’s Izzy Thorpe and Ranjuo Tomblin, who had had a similarly disappointing result to the Italians in the mixed technical, where they finished eighth.
Tomblin also won silver in the men’s solo technical and solo free routines, both times behind China’s 17-year-old Guo Muye, with Italy’s Gabriele Minak earning bronze in the solo free.
Elsewhere in competition at the Piscine Georges Vallerey the three-times world champion Mayya Doroshko of Neutral Athletes B won gold in the women’s duet free and technical disciplines, the first in company with 17-year-old Aleksandra Shmidt and the second partnering Elizaveta Minaeva.
The women’s duet technical marked the return of Kate Shortman – who had taken an extended break from the sport – and Thorpe, 19 months after they had earned Paris 2024 duet bronze,, Britain’s first Olympic medal in the sport.
While Thorpe made a big impression last season in her new mixed duet partnership with Tomblin, Shortman was making her first appearance since the Olympics – and once again the pair made the podium in the French capital as they finished third, debuting their new ‘Last Dance’ themed routine – in tribute to their display at Paris 2024 – to score 287.8250.
Doroshko and Minaeva totalled 299.8376 and NAB’s Kira Cherezova and Valentina Gerasimova took silver on 290.5550.
Silver and bronze in the duet free went respectively to Cherezova and Gerasimova, and the home pairing of Laelys Alavez and Romane Lunel.
The team acrobatic title went to Ukraine, who finished ahead of Italy and Israel.
Neutral Athletes B also won team technical and team free golds, with technical silver and bronze going to Italy and Greece and free silver and bronze going to China and France.
Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics
