Warrior spirit sees off Russian challenge

With a performance inspired by the Terracotta Warriors, the Chinese artistic swimming team concluded the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on Friday by securing gold in the team acrobatic event, bringing its total medal tally at the tournament to four golds and three silvers.

China triumphed once again over the Russian squad, competing as Neutral Athletes B (NAB), scoring 229.0186 points. NAB finished second with 224.7291 points, while Spain took third with 221.0962 points. China also outshone NAB in the team technical event, where Spain also took bronze.

"When we won the team technical, I was still quite anxious," said China head coach Zhang Xiaohuan. "But in the acrobatic event, their (NAB's) difficulty increased significantly from the preliminary round to the final, which put pressure on me. However, I followed the advice of our research team and focused on doing our best. What mattered most in the final was the quality of our artistic choreography and the overall execution of the routine."

For China, which made history by winning both the duet and team events at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, the victory at the Singapore worlds further demonstrated the ongoing rise of Chinese artistic swimming. This triumph, with maiden victories over a Russian contingent, marks a new milestone for Team China and solidifies its place at the top of the sport.

"What we've done in this competition, especially winning the team technical event with NAB participating, is a new chapter in the history of Chinese artistic swimming," said China's Spanish coach Ana Tarres. "It's the first time China has ever beaten this strong rival in a competition where they were both present. I think this is a great motivation for the girls. Nothing is impossible through hard work, discipline and commitment. This is a step forward."

"The team technical gold is just as important as the one we won at the Paris Olympics," said Zhang.

"We've always looked forward to a direct showdown with our strongest competitors."

Despite its dominance at the 2024 Doha worlds and the Paris Olympics, it wasn't until the Singapore worlds that China dispelled doubts that it could only win in the absence of Russian competitors.

Proving the team's competitiveness has even been a reason for several veteran swimmers to continue, despite having already won world and Olympic titles.

"I failed to compete in the team technical, but today I participated in the acrobatic event, and we defeated NAB. We broke through the doubts with our strength," said Paris Olympic champion Zhang Yayi, who injured her foot 15 days ago, but still managed to participate in the last event in Singapore.

Head coach Zhang Xiaohuan noted that the victory would not only motivate veteran swimmers, but also inspire younger athletes and encourage everyone in China's artistic swimming program.

"It will boost the entire sport," she said. "Artistic swimming is developing at an incredible speed. Every competition shows how unpredictable it can be — sometimes third place can jump to first, and sometimes the champion can fall behind. It's hard to say who will win the gold medal. There is no eternal champion," she added.

Team captain Feng Yu added: "We've waited for this chance to compete against a team we've been wanting to measure ourselves against for a very long time. That makes this result special."

In the team free event, Feng was called upon to replace Zhang Yayi just nine days before the final.

Young talent also shone. Xu Huiyan, 19, secured four gold medals and a silver in her second world championships. She made history by winning China's first-ever gold in the women's solo technical event with a huge lead. She then followed up with a silver in the solo free final, setting a personal best. Xu also helped win three team golds, despite catching a fever on Friday.

"I think our young athletes did really well, especially Xu, along with other swimmers who competed in individual events," Zhang Xiaohuan said. "I've seen their improvement, but they still need to work harder. They will carry China's flag in the future, and they need to keep improving."

Guo Muye, 17, competing in his first world championships, claimed a historic silver in the men's solo free. Twin sisters Lin Yanjun and Lin Yanhan, also debuting at the worlds, earned a silver in the women's duet technical.

"I have higher expectations, but I accept that this is the best our team can do right now with a new lineup in this new cycle," the coach admitted. "I hope we can do even better next time. But, I think we made a big breakthrough in this competition."

Looking ahead to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Russian swimmers will still be China's biggest competitors.

"They (NAB) have a solid talent pool in artistic swimming. Many of their athletes are very young, born in 2007 and 2008, yet they perform at a very high level," Zhang said. "This is something we really admire and respect. Their performance still remains at a very high standard, with good synchronization, teamwork and consistency. This brings a lot of challenges for us in the future. We won this time, but we still have a long way to go.

"Compared to them, we need to make some adjustments. Many of our veteran swimmers are dealing with injuries, so we'll have to make some changes going forward," Zhang continued. "Also, I think the choreography of Spain, Italy and France is excellent.

"We must always consider ourselves as challengers, and never take the champion's position for granted. We still need to keep improving," Zhang concluded.

Xinhua