Artistic swimming kicked off its elite competition calendar for 2026 with the first stop of its World Cup. The mountainous metropolis of Medellín hosted, marking the first time Colombia has ever hosted an aquatics World Cup event.
Ranjuo Tomblin, a 20-year-old trailblazer among British men in the sport, had a phenomenal weekend. He picked up a total of three gold medals for the Union Jack, more individually than any other country in total. Tomblin won the men’s solo technical event with a score of 223.8033. He and his mixed partner Isabelle Thorpe swept the mixed duets – free and technical – to bring Britain to the top of the medal table.
The women’s solo events were also swept by a 20-year-old: Canadian Audrey Lamothe. The decorated athlete comfortably won the solo free event with a score of 247.0625. Additionally, she beat out Slovakia’s Zofia Strapekova by less than a point for the technical title.
While Great Britain won the most gold medals of the weekend, the overall medal winner went to Kazakhstan. Despite an eight point penalty, the Asian nation dominated the team technical routine by over 33 points with a score of 189.8591. The country picked up a second gold in the men solo free event courtesy of Eduard Kim. Behind Kim, 15-year-old Alan Domingues Rodrigues picked up his first ever international medal competing for Brazil.
Back to Kazakhstan, the country picked up silver in the team acrobatic event and earned a trio of bronzes – two of them from Viktor Druzin – to round out its medal haul.
The Paisa home crowd had a lot to root for, as Colombians reached the podium on four separate occasions. This marked the second most of any country behind Kazakhstan. The South American nation posted top three finishes in both team events, reaping silver in the free and bronze in the acrobatic. World Aquatics’ 2024 artistic swimmer of the year, Gustavo Sanchez, placed second in the mixed duet free event with partner Emily Mimante. The last host nation medal came from Nicolas Tascon in the men solo free, eeking ahead of his veteran teammate Sánchez for the final podium spot.
Other Event Winners
- North America took charge of many of the team events. Team USA topped the podium in the acrobatic routine in the first time the squad competed together. Mexico and its neighbor to the north also went 1-2, respectively, in the team technical event.
- In the technical duet final, new German dynamic duo Klara Bleyer and Amelie Marianne Blumenthal Haz claimed their first World Cup gold together. In that same event, double Singapore gold medalists Elizaverta Minaeva and Mayya Doroshko of Russia faltered to a surprise 19th place
- Doroshko and Shmidt did, however, make up for it with a gold in the women free duet. They compete under a neutral flag.
