Spanish artistic swimming continues to celebrate. The Spanish team took bronze in the free routine, achieving a score of 321.1328; a result that allows them to return to the podium of a free routine final more than a decade later at a world championships, with Anna Tarrés’s team from China claiming their fourth consecutive title.
The Spanish team, made up of Cristina Arámbula, Txell Ferré, Marina García, Dennis González, Alisa Ozhogina, Paula Ramírez, Sara Saldaña and Iris Tió, finished twenty-seven points behind China , which retained the world title it won last year in Doha with a score of 348.4779.
The podium was completed by Japan, which won the silver medal with a total of 334.7232 points , thirteen points more than the Spanish team, which was hampered by a base mark in one of its elements.
Fourth time lucky
After finishing fourth in three consecutive World Cups, Spain, which finished second in the preliminary round, climbed onto the podium for the first time since Barcelona 2013, and they did so with a novel and risky approach, with a mixed team with Dennis González accompanying Iris Tió, Txell Ferré, Paula Ramírez, Cristina Arámbula, Alisa Ozhogina, Marina García Polo and Sara Saldaña.
Not even a base mark on the penultimate hybrid could ruin “La locura” (The Madness)—the name of the routine performed— for the team led by Andrea Fuentes, who still made it onto the podium, although the medal color changed. Their 321.1328 points—60.5950 in difficulty, 171.2828 in elements, and 149.8500 in artistic impression—allowed them to secure a medal with only one team left to go.
Dennis González, the first man to stand on a team podium
With this result, Dennis González becomes the first man to stand on a team podium at a World Artistic Championships. China, led by former national team coach Anna Tarrés, was once again unstoppable (348.4779) to claim its fourth consecutive gold medal, while Japan (334.7232) took the silver medal.
The Spanish delegation now has three medals at the World Championships in Singapore, after González himself took silver on Saturday in the men’s solo technical final and Iris Tió also won bronze in the solo technical final.
Hours before participating in the team final, Tió had already jumped into the pool for the free solo preliminary, where she achieved a third place and a comfortable place in the final. With a score of 235.3063 points for her Edith Piaf “Hymne à l’amour,” she finished only behind China’s Huiyan Xu (238.7737) and Russia’s Vasilina Khandoshka (238.2762).
