The Centre National Sportif et Culturel “La Coque” delivered its finest day of competition yet on Saturday as the European Aquatics Youth Artistic Swimming Championships reached its climax, with three sets of medals decided before the Team Free final brought the curtain down on an extraordinary week.
Anna Danilova gave Russia the perfect start, claiming the Women’s Free Solo title with an incredible 378.70 points. Her “Flirtatious Girl” routine, choreographed by Olympic legend Olga Brusnikina and set to Edith Piaf’s Milord, drew the highest free score of the field at 230.23.
That, combined with her impressive seventh place in the figures event, was more than enough for her to seal the victory as she wowed the judges and never looked like relinquishing the top spot she assumed when progressing from the preliminary stage.
Spain’s Abril Caballero Garcia claimed silver on 357.23 in one of the stories of the championships. Her Revolt routine was being presented internationally for the first time having only been created for the Spanish national championships.
Despite this, she ran Danilova to the wire, and looked good value for her silver medal as she came within approximately 20 points of the title.
Bronze went to Greece’s Melina Rafailia Kasviki on 339.59. The 14-year-old was competing in her first ever international solo for her country, and she showed prowess beyond her years with the crowd rising to her incredible presence throughout the routine.
Her routine, titled “Look at Me”, carried a message about being yourself without hiding. This was a theme that felt fitting for an athlete who quit the sport as a child before returning because she couldn’t live without it.
Italy’s Viola La Groia missed the podium by less than a single point in fourth on 338.74, in what was a clear example of the importance of Friday night’s figures event, which is combined with their routine to make a final score.
Belarus’ Vasilina Khodas finished just a few point further back in fifth, with what was a stellar performance of her own as she stayed inside the top three for a number of routines before just comning up short of the podium places.
In the mixed duet free, Russia’s Dominika Aleksandrova and Nikita Sklyarov claimed gold on 333.85 with their Romeo and Juliet routine, which was made all the more personal by the Shakespearean lines being read in the recorded voice of Nikita’s own mother.
Their combined score saw them finish a massive 50 points ahead of the other podium finishers, which was the most dominant performance so far this week.
Spain’s Lola Aparicio Tronchoni and Mikel Mercedes Sebastian, who were competing together for just two weeks prior to the competition, took silver on 284.84 in a finish that had the crowd on edge, as the pairing were the last to compete and at times showed technique that could’ve easily placed them in and around that gold medal spot, while Poland’s Kacper Kasprzyk and Amelia Mianowska claimed bronze on 283.63.
The Team Free final brought the curtain down on Saturday’s action in fitting fashion, and Russia saved perhaps their most dominant performance of the entire week for the moment, with all of their team finishing inside the top 20 in the figures competition.
Going out fourteenth and final in the running order, they posted a free score of 233.75, one of the highest of any team event across the whole competition, to finish on a commanding total of 400.49 and claim their third gold medal of the day.
The squad, which included Stanislava Kozlova, Anastasiia Dukova and Anastasiia Mokshina (the top three in figures) among its ranks, drew on the collective talent that had been evident throughout the week, and their artistic impression score of 120.33 was untouchable.
France, who had been bronze medallists at the 2025 World Youth Championships in Athens, claimed silver on 360.95, with a polished and composed performance that reflected the strength in depth of a squad that had contributed athletes across multiple events throughout the week, including the Domin twins and Ambre Olmedo-Gimenez. They had the lion’s share of support from the crowd as they looked elated with their results when they came in.
Italy recovered from the disappointment of their penalty-affected preliminary to claim bronze on 357.23, with La Groia adding a team medal to her fourth-place solo finish from earlier in the day. Spain were fourth on 349.42, Belarus fifth on 336.92 and Greece sixth on 333.89, with Switzerland, Czechia, Estonia and Slovakia rounding out the top ten.
For the host nation, Luxembourg’s appearance in the final – competing first on the start list in front of their home crowd at the Centre National Sportif et Culturel “La Coque” – was a moment the arena embraced warmly, and it was clear how much it meant to the country to be hosting such an event.
The final day sees the duet free, men’s solo free and the free combination finals, which will undoubtedly provide the fans with plenty to enjoy as the curtain comes down on the European Aquatics Youth Artistic Swimming Championships Luxembourg 2026.
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Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics
