Spain was looking to complete a clean-sweep of team titles, but despite being given a second chance to perform their ‘One opportunity’ themed routine, after a speaker issue, they were unable to match their previous brilliance in the Tech and Free events, finishing fourth.

Another Spaniard, Dennis Gonzalez, would complete a hat-trick of Somabay successes though, with his latest coming in the Mixed Duet Free alongside Iris Tio Casas.

Muye Guo (CHN) won his second Solo crown alongisde the breakout victory for Enrica Piccoli of Italy.

Open Team Acrobatic – Ukraine returns to the summit

Ukraine, who won Olympic bronze at Tokyo 2020, are in something of a rebuilding phase after the disappointment of failing to qualify a team for Paris 2024 and seeing several of their higher profile athletes step away from the sport in recent years.

Their new-look line-up were simply sublime in Somabay, delighting the onlookers as sun faded in the Egyptian city with their ‘Geometry of magic’ themed routine to ‘March of the Magicians’ by Lorenzo Castellarin also impressing the onlooking judges.

They attained a score of 88.5500 for artistic impression, with 111.5411 for execution, giving them a winning combined total of 200.0911.

Italy is another team which has struggled to match previous glories since the introduction of new rules in 2023, but their line-up built on impressive performances from their nation’s athletes across multiple disciplines in Somabay by claiming a hard-earned silver.

“We are very happy because it’s our first time together, we’re a new group and very young with just three from last year,” said Sophia Mastroianni after her team achieved a combined score total of 187.0263.

“For me it’s so nice to be with all the new girls, I’m not quite the oldest, but nearly and they’re super talented and we can do much more in the water.”

China made history at Paris 2024, by claiming Olympic gold for first time in history and some of their emerging talents were given the opportunity to further sample the major international stage in Somabay.

Bronze was their reward for an encouraging display, which scored 186.8288.

Just over five points further back was Spain, who had been highly fancied to win the event, after their earlier successes on Friday and Saturday.

They incurred an early base mark in their initial performance, which was otherwise highly impressive and they waited for over five minutes while the scores were debated, only to learn they would be granted a re-swim after a speaker broke during their display.

The eight-strong line-up were clearly tired after a busy three-days of competition, but fought the best they could through the fatigue and would ultimately place fourth.

Mixed Duet Free – Gonzalez Completes Golden Hat-trick In Debut With Casas

The debut of Olympic bronze medallist Iris Tio Casas together with World champion Dennis Gonzalez was one of the most highly anticipated performances of the Somabay World Cup and it certainly lived up to the hype.

The pair were part of Spain’s gold medal winning Team Free event on Friday, while Gonzalez had taken the Mixed Duet Technical crown alongside Mireia Hernandez on Saturday.

Now united, they were a clear class apart from the rest of the assembled duets, with their ‘a heartbreak’ themed routine, to the Led Zeppelin track ‘Babe I'm Gonna leave you’ attaining a combined total of 273.6421.

“We worked a lot for the artistic impression in Spain and we show a lot of passion with the movement of our arms and our performance where we’re trying to reach our best,” Gonzalez told World Aquatics. “This is a choreography we made and it’s personal to us.”

“We’re very happy because I think we can feel the emotion into the water and I think it’s very important to do that and show our best performance which I think we did.”
By Iris Tio Casas

No-one would come close to matching their impressive total, but that did not mean the rest of the final was without significant other highlights, with the performance from Thailand’s Kantinan Adisaisiributr and Supitchaya Songpan particularly notable.

Far from sinking, their ‘Titanic’ themed routine, to the iconic Celine Dion soundtrack, provided a highly uplifting experience for the assembled crowd and their combined score of 237.6159 saw them claim the first international honours of their respective careers.

“I think I’m dreaming right now,” Songpan told World Aquatics. “It’s our first time in mixed duets and we just made this routine new three months ago. We knew we had to swim our best and the result is totally worth it.”

Spanish duo Aurora Lazaro and Jordi Caceres looked well-placed to attain a second honour for their nation in the Mixed Duet Free final, but it would be the Colombian pair Emily Minante and Gustavo Sanchez who ultimately claimed third.

“We had some synchronised problems, but we’re happy with the medal after the hard work,” said Sanchez, who admitted he was “very sad” to learn the discipline would not be part of the LA 2028 Olympic Games programme.

“We thought it was possible...but we hope to keep fighting.”

Women’s Solo Free – Piccoli claims “surprise” podium

Enrica Piccoli finished 14th in the Solo Technical final on Friday and previously last contested an international solo events as a junior back in 2016, so few anticipated she would mount much of a medal threat on the final day of competition.

However, strong hybrids combined with clear passion which perfectly matched her ‘from despair to hope’ themed routine saw her awarded an overall score of 215.3751, setting the bar incredibly high for her competitors who followed.

Ultimately it would prove too high for the 23-strong field, with Germany’s European silver medallist Klara Bleyer attaining the closest score, with 208.3589, which would see her take second medal of the World Cup in Egypt, after gold in the Solo Tech on Friday.

“I’m happy with the competition, it’s not like I expected as I forgot an element in the last hybrid which really puts me back in the points, but still I got silver so I’m happy,” Bleyer told World Aquatics.

Gold medallist Piccoli admitted she was “really surprised” to take the victory.

“On the first day I had mistakes in the strokes that brought me to mistakes in the last elements and gave me a lot of penalties, but today I tried not to think about it.

“I tried to think about all the things I do in training and I’m really excited because there are a lot of really, really high level swimmers here and this (result) makes me so happy.”
By Enrica Piccoli

Rounding off the top-three, with another typically strong showing, was Vasilina Khandoshka.

The 23-year-old is still seeking the first international gold of her career, but secured her second successive third-place finish with an overall score of 206.8613.

Men’s Solo Free – Guo Lands Double Solo Gold

After his stunning victory in the Men’s Solo Technical final on the opening day of competition Muye Guo (CHN) was again the favourite to land another title, but he was lining up in a strong field of regular World Cup medallists.

As expected the 16-year-old demonstrated strong artistry and execution throughout his ‘setting out on a campaign’ themed performance which was given a combined overall score of 196.7401 and would ultimately see him claim gold.

Italy is a nation seeking a new male star, following the retirement of legendary champion Giorgio Minisini and in Gabriele Minak the appear to have discovered one.

The 18-year-old made his debut at this level in 2023 and claimed a maiden victory at the Paris World Cup that year, but had gone nearly two years without competing in the World Cup circuit before his appearance in Somabay.

His ‘Alien’ themed routine, which was awarded a DD of 48.6500, with his unbalanced rotations particularly impressive in a performance which attained an overall score of 188.3764.

“I’m very happy because this is my first silver medal in Men’s Solo Free,” Minak told World Aquatics. “I know I want to win the gold, but this is a process and I will improve to win the gold in the next competition.”

Rounding off the podium places was three-time World Championships medallist Gustavo Sanchez (COL), who has been contesting his first event since the 2024 Super Final in Hungary.

In July last year he claimed gold in the Men’s Solo Free, but was fifth in his comeback on the opening day of competition in Somabay following the Men’s Solo Technical discipline.

The 24-year-old looked closer to his best form while performing his ‘spirit of water and fire’ themed routine and a score of 177.5788, which was enough to take bronze, will give him confidence heading towards his major target for 2025, the World Championships in Singapore.

“I’m so happy to be here and get a medal, it was not my goal as we’re working for the gold, but it’s okay,” Sanchez told World Aquatics.