Aleksandra Pishchikova and Varvara Barabashova combined to claim their second gold medals of the 2025 World Youth Artistic Swimming Championships on the final day of action in Athens, Greece.
Pishchikova, who won the Women’s Solo Free final on Thursday, and Barbashova, who was part of Neutral Athlete B’s victorious Team Free line-up 24 hours later, produced a brilliant performance in the Women’s Duet Free to attain their latest successes.
They scored a total of 220.1601 for their ‘Valkyries’ themed routine, which became 338.0115 once points from their respective performances in the Figures contest were included.
“I can say thanks for my trainer and we’re so happy,” Barbashova told World Aquatics. “It’s my second gold medal in this competition and with Aleksandra we do duet for (just) six months so it’s fantastic.”
Pishchikova added; “I think we have a good result, but we want to work more and show a more beautiful programme in the future.”
Kaho Miyazaki and Mari Sakaki of Japan (302.6035) took silver, ahead of French duo Carla Pusta and Gabrielle Bassou (301.2718).
The final competitive action of Athens 2025 saw 12 nations battle it out for the prestigious Mixed Free Team Combination title, and after a highly entertaining contest, it was the 10-strong Neutral Athletes B line-up who topped the podium.
Their ‘The Shaolin Way’ themed routine was awarded 337.9312 points, a score which saw them finish clear of silver medallists Spain (327.0642) and the People’s Republic of China (310.3934) who completed the podium places.
“I am happy because this gold medal is one of many gold medals for us and we always want to be better each day, so we always push harder every time,” said Sofia Mikhailova.
Adriana Bjorklund, who was part of Spanish team who leaped with delighted after securing a medal, admitted the result made their “dreams come true.”
“We went out there to win a medal and everybody enjoyed themselves swimming great routines,” said the 15-year-old. “We did such a really good job which has made it such a nice experience for us and I would like to thank World Aquatics.”
The final presentation of the evening saw France lift the overall Team Trophy, with a grand total of 2105.6914 points, ahead of People’s Republic of China (2078.6499) and the United States of America (2068.2787).
“It’s incredible,” Lilou Sperry told World Aquatics.”
“We’ve had lots of emotions at my first international competition and it’s the first time we have won the trophy at the World Championships so we’re very happy.”