China won its third consecutive world title in the Team Acrobatic event on Friday to close out artistic swimming in Singapore. The victory also meant that China won every team event this week. Neutral B took silver. The ever-innovative Spain earned the bronze.
SINGAPORE – China once again threw down an exceptional Terra Cotta Warrior program to win Team Acrobatic gold on Friday. With the victory, it also completed a clean sweep of all three team gold medals in Singapore on the last day of artistic swimming. China’s acrobatic program was so locked in that only 1.9333 points were deducted for synchronization errors, and it was so exceptional in choreography and musicality that it earned 10.0s from all five impression judges for that component.
In addition, China’s final victory also made Xu Huiyan the only artistic swimmer to win four gold medals in Singapore.
And yet, China’s coach Zhang Xiaohuan said, “We were not near 100 percent today, but we had a team behind us and we had stalwarts in the team holding everything together.”
For example, Zhang said, “We competed today with Xu Huiyan running a high fever.” Also, Zhang Yayi, 28, competed at the last minute despite having to board the flight to Singapore in a wheelchair because of a leg injury.
“Her condition seemed to have improved by the time the team acrobatic event took place, which is why we fielded her in the end,” the coach said. “Yayi has won it all – the world championships, Olympic gold, Asian Games gold – she didn’t need any more, but she still chose to come back to play a part in the team. That’s very commendable.”
Neutral B athletes took silver with a pulsating Rio Rita routine to finish 3.6329 points ahead of Spain, whose showstopping “Abracadabra” program made highly effective theatrical use of its male star Dennis Gonzalez Boneu (who had won Mixed Duet Free earlier in the day).
Ultimately, the difference between silver and bronze came down to degree of difficulty; Neutral B’s program had a DD of 25.00 (compared to Spain’s 23.75), and Neutral B scored nearly four points higher on its most difficult element during the three-minute routine.
Silver medalist Elizaveta Smirnova, 20, said, “We are really happy with our performance today. We improved, which was the most important thing. We raised the complexity of our performance today, too. It was physically very tiring but also very fulfilling for us as a team, especially when it earned us this medal.”
As for Spain, which will leave Singapore with nine artistic swimming medals – more than any other nation, coach Andrea Fuentes said, “I was not expecting that amount of results so fast. I thought it was going to be later. I was very lucky to have a very good team because we had only nine months to know each other – also for me to adapt to another culture.
“Even if I am from [Spain], it’s not the same. I learned how to be a coach in the US. I never coached a Spaniard. For example, I discovered that in the US, you focus more on the positive things of each person, so you build the confidence from little kids. In Spain, we’re more critical…so the confidence is lower in general. But at the same time, [in Spain] they are way more transparent. There’s no filter, and this is better because then you can be yourself 100% always.”
As for whether she wants to bring Gonzalez Boneu to LA in 2028, Fuentes said, “A million percent, yes. But the mission is much bigger. He’s going to be the symbol of so many boys who want to do this sport. If [he is] there, it’s going to be much easier for them. But he has to be in the best eight. For now, he just needs to keep working and take care of himself.”
Rounding out the Team Acro results were Italy in fourth (performing to its Chicago theme), Mexico in fifth (inventively portraying the Mexican goddess of the waters), and France in sixth (with its classic Olympic can-can). The 2024 Olympic silver medalist, USA, had a base mark in its Olympic “Sorceress” routine and finished ninth among the 12 teams in Friday’s final.
Final Medal Standings – Artistic Swimming 2025
G-S-B
Spain (9) 3-2-4
Neutral B (8) 3-3-2
China (7) 4-3-0
Italy (3) 0-1-2
Neutral A (2) 0-1-1
Austria 1-0-0
Japan 0-1-0
Mexico 0-0-1
Great Britain 0-0-1