The second day of competition at the European Aquatics Youth Artistic Swimming Championships Luxembourg 2026 saw a combination of a regular event across all ages of the sport, with a unique skill-based format that aimed to shake up the pecking order of the events as the preliminary stage rounds up and the finals come onto the horizon.
Following a blockbuster opening day, the morning brought a similar level of intensity. Russia continued their dominance of the competition, topping the duet free preliminary with 182.93 points.
Mariia Pakhomova and Emiliia Osiiuk, performing a Snakes-themed routine choreographed by Anastasiia Bortnik to a medley of tracks by Jeremy Zuckerman and Rayn Taubert, drew on imagery designed to highlight what their coach describes as the athletes’ “exceptional flexibility and beautiful lines”.
Their acrobatic and hybrid elements were rewarded with the highest element score of the field, and their impression marks were similarly impressive, scoring 90 or higher in both.
Pakhomova arrives in Luxembourg as a 2025 World Aquatics Youth Championship winner, and the pair looked every bit the benchmark for the rest of the field to chase.
French twins Julia and Magdalena Domin claimed second on 164.18, performing their cat-themed routine to a varied music selection ranging from Kevin Reem’s Haunted House to Danny Elfman’s Men in Black main theme.
Choreographed and coached by Alexia Vito, the routine was particularly effective in its artistic impression score, as they wowed those in attendance at the Centre National Sportif et Culturel “La Coque”.
The pair are the 2026 French Elite Champions in both the Under 15 and Junior categories, and they sit comfortably in second after the free routine, though a gap of nearly 19 points to Russia leaves them with work to do.
Greece’s Faidra Chrysou and Melina Rafailia Kasviki – the latter already familiar from her strong showing in the solo event the previous day – came third on 153.93.
Their Swans routine, set to music from the Black Swan soundtrack by Clint Mansell, drew on the connection between artistic swimming and ballet, and their swan-inspired swimsuits were noted by the athletes themselves as looking remarkably true to life.
The pair have been working together for five years and placed ninth at last year’s World Aquatics Youth Championships. Seeded third ahead of the figures event, their efforts put them in a great position ahead of the afternoon.
Spain provisionally sat fourth despite collecting an 8-point penalty, which cost them dearly against a field where margins were tight through the middle of the standings.
Slovakia, Croatia, Switzerland, Estonia, Portugal and Türkiye followed in fifth through tenth, with Great Britain and Hungary currently rounding out the provisional qualification places in eleventh and twelfth.
However, with the figures scores yet to be factored in, the standings remained far from settled, and the afternoon’s figures competition had the potential to significantly reshape the picture before the finalists are confirmed.
It was during that figures competition where the field began to shake-up.
The event sees each athlete performn four times to four different sets of judges. They perform a given move, and are judged on their execution of that move. The scores are then aggregated and added to their event scores to see who advances to the finals. Their scores are also combined with their score in the final to decide an overall winner.
Russia swept the field, taking all of the top eight places in the event, with Stanislava Kozlova leading the way on 87.36, ahead of compatriots Anastasiia Dukova and Anastasiia Mokshina in second and third respectively. The dominance was even more apparent, with eleven of the top twelve figures finishers being Russian.
Spain’s Abril Caballero Garcia was the standout performer outside of the Russian contingent, finishing ninth in the figures to put herself firmly in contention for the solo final as she safely made it through, while Belarus’s Vasilina Khodas also impressed in 13th to stake her claim.
Italy’s Viola La Groia, who had been second in the solo preliminary the previous day, placed 15th in the figures – enough to keep her in the mix heading into Saturday’s solo final, where she will be one of the leading challengers to Russia’s Anna Danilova.
France’s Athenais Fauran also made her presence felt in 19th, while Emiliia Osiiuk’s 20th place in the figures, when combined with her duet free score, will have been enough to confirm her place in the weekend’s programme.
With the scores now combined, attention turns to Saturday’s finals across three events. The women’s solo free final brings together 15 athletes, with Danilova starting as the favourite after topping the preliminary, though there are several athletes from a handful of nations who will have their eyes on the podium places.
Host nation Luxembourg will be cheering on their own in the team free final, where they open the programme as the first nation on the start list in what will be the final event of the day tomorrow.
The mixed duet free final also takes place on Saturday, with eight nations – including Russia, France, Italy and Greece – set to compete, while the team free final features fourteen nations, with the Russian Federation again among the favourites.
Saturday will see a total of three sets of four sets of medals handed out, due to the figures event also awarding athletes for their efforts. It certainly won’t be one to miss.
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Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics
