What Happened

PARIS – Wang Qianyi and Wang Liuyi of China emerged as new queens of artistic swimming during a tournament of firsts at the Aquatics Centre.

The twin won both the duet and team competitions to help provide China with their first ever Olympic golds in artistic swimming, which had been dominated by Russia since Sydney 2000.

Also breaking new ground, by taking home their nations’ first ever medals in the sport, were Great Britain’s silver medallists in the duet, Kate Shortman and Isabelle Thorpe, and Dutch twins Bregje de Brouwer and Noortje de Brouwer (NED), who claimed bronze. 

The team competition—featuring its first acrobatic routine at an Olympic Games—saw the United States return to the Olympic podium for the first time since 1996 after they claimed silver and Spain for the first time since 2012 with bronze, proving that new rule changes have added unpredictability and excitement to the competition. 

For the full results artistic swimming click here

Quote of the Games

Image Source: : Members of Team United States compete in the Team Free Routine on day eleven of the Olympic Games Paris 2024. (Clive Rose/Getty Images)

"You see marathon runners, and at the end of the race, they have pee, puke all over them, and they're barely crossing the finish line, so for us, it's an artistic sport, so we have to present ourselves and make it all look effortless, which of course it's not.”
- Anita Alvarez (USA) on the importance of appearance in a painstaking sport.

For all the quotes from artistic swimming, click here

Stat of the Games

Image Source: Silver Medalists Kate Shortman and Isabelle Thorpe of Team Great Britain (L) celebrate as Gold Medalists Wang Liuyi and Wang Qianyi of Team People's Republic of China (C) and Bronze Medalists Bregje de Brouwer and Noortje de Brouwer of Team Netherlands (R) applaud on the podium after the Duet Free Routine on day fifteen of the Olympic Games Paris 2024. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Four sets of twins were vying for medals in the duet competition at Paris 2024, with only those from China and the Netherlands reaching the podium after Great Britain put a stop to a clean sweep by sisters.