A wrap up of all the Artistic Swimming action on Day 6 of the World Aquatics Championships Fukuoka 2023.
The Marine Messe A Aquatic Center in Fukuoka, Japan was the site for another first in the sport of Artistic Swimming during the World Aquatics Championships – Fukuoka 2023. With the final rounds for the Female and Male Free Solo events on the program, the first ever Male Free Solo World Champion would be crowned. As with the Female and Male Technical Solo events earlier this week, the gold medals in the Free Solo events were won by Japan and Spain respectively. Reigning World Champion and the 2022 World Aquatics Artistic Swimming Athlete of the Year, Yukiko Inui of Japan, demonstrated her excellence and superiority as a soloist to win her second and Japan’s fourth gold medal this week. Although, it was a Spaniard on the top of the podium, this time around it was Dennis Gonzalez Boneu, the silver medallist of the Technical Mixed Duet event, who claimed Spain’s third gold and sixth medal overall.
Men Solo Free
Besides owning the gold medal and World Champion title, Dennis Gonzalez Boneu will forever be in the record books as the first ever Male Free Solo World Champion. Swimming his choreography with the declared difficulty of 26.5 to the song “Golden Hour” by JVKE, Gonzalez Boneu was awarded 193.0334 points. An elated Boneu explained the huge increase in score from the preliminary to the final round.
It is a solo that I put together in a very short amount of time. I had to change almost everything from the preliminaries to be able to get a higher score... and I think it was a success. I’m very happy and excited to have achieved this result. Without the people who support me this would not have been possible. Especially my trainers who have been with me since I was a kid and my mother who supports me every single day. Thank you for always believing in me.
Colombia’s Gustavo Sanchez, a multiple medalist during the 2023 World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup events, wrote himself into the Colombian record books by winning the first ever silver World Championship medal. The varied and creative choreography allowed the expressive Sánchez to interpret the music "The Crucifixion" exceptionally throughout his routine "Passion of Christ," for which he was awarded 189.9625 points.
After somewhat disappointing performances in Fukuoka, Sánchez expressed his feelings after winning the silver medal: "I am very, very happy. We managed to get everything in. We were on a bad streak, but with this performance we managed to get everything in. I am very pleased with the result. I have felt this support from the beginning, and it has been very important to me. I feel so blessed and happy.”
After winning the silver medal earlier in the Technical event, USA’s Kenneth Gaudet set the standard for the final round by entering with the highest difficulty score. Despite receiving one base mark, he still placed in first.
In the final round, while Gonzalez Boneu and Sánchez swam clean routines, Gaudet once again received one base mark for his rendition of the "Struggle of Self Love"-themed choreography, which he swam to the song "Half a Man" by Dean Lewis. His score of 179.5562 points was good enough to make it onto the podium and win the fourth medal for the USA this week.
Gaudet, who has been very successful in Fukuoka with his American teammates, said: "Honestly, I was very proud of my swim and very proud of what I have accomplished here. I am still young, so there is more to come. It's truly amazing for the USA to be back on top again and winning medals in artistic swimming. It feels like we are on top of the world. We're doing so well as a team, and I'm just so proud to be a part of this history. It's such an honor."
Women Solo Free
Japan’s Yukiko Inui, the undisputed best soloist, 2022 Female Artistic Swimming Athlete of the Year, reigning World Champion in the Free Solo, and gold medallist and World Champion in the Technical Solo, entered and finished the preliminary and final rounds with the highest declared difficulty of 38.95.
Inui's superb performance of "Orochi, The Legendary Giant Snake with Eight Heads" was awarded 254.6062 points. Inui's artistic impression is exceptional. The way she expertly used all her different body parts and facial expressions to interpret the beauty and dynamics of the theme to the original music composed by Japanese Toshiyuki Matsumoto throughout the very difficult choreography was second to none. Visibly emotional when she received her scores.
As for the feeling of swimming myself, I was a little uneasy, and I regret that I didn't do well, but I think it was good that I was able to swim without a base mark. I am very happy that many people have come to support swimming today - even from my hometown of Shiga Prefecture. I'm glad that I was able to deliver bright news to everyone who has been supporting me on a daily basis.
Repeating her finish as the silver medalist from the Technical Solo event, Austria’s Vasiliki Alexandri performed her "Sounds of Nature" routine, which boasted the second-highest difficulty at 35.7, flawlessly for a total of 229.3251 points.
The choreography, set to music uniquely using human voices to imitate the sounds of nature, allowed Alexandri to showcase her athleticism and grace beautifully. Referring to the three base marks she received in the preliminaries, Alexandri commented, "I feel good that I got no base marks. It was a very clean performance and I felt it in the water. I am tired and I am glad that it's done. It was my last swim and I'm happy."
“It's really been unbelievable. I got a lot of support not only from home but also from so many other athletes, artistic swimmers, and the community of artistic swimming. I am very thankful. I love Japan. If not my favorite country, then it's in the top three. It's amazing. The crowd, the venues, everything is really amazing. The people are so kind and are always glad to see us. Even if we fail sometimes, they support us. It's an amazing feeling,” said Alexandri.
Great Britain’s Kate Shortman scored 219.9542 points for her "Unrequited Love"-themed routine, which she swam to the song "Delicate." This was good enough to win her the first medal for Great Britain in Artistic Swimming in Fukuoka. Shortman explained how she swam successfully and flawlessly in both the preliminary and final round: "I was really happy with that. I think in solos now, it's just about not getting those base marks, staying in control, and using your brain and being precise rather than what it used to be, which was just giving it everything and going for it. Now there is that extra element of control."
SCHEDULE & RESULTS
The full results can be found on the World Aquatics Website. The schedule for the Artistic Swimming Championships (local time GMT +9) is as follows:
Thursday July 20th
- 10:00 Mixed Team Free Preliminaries
- 19:30 Women Duet Free Finals
Friday July 21st
- 10:00 Mixed Duet Free Preliminaries
- 19:30 Mixed Team Free Finals
Saturday July 22nd
- 10:00 Mixed Duet Free Finals