2024 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – ARTISTIC SWIMMING
- Feb. 1-9, 2024
- Doha, Qatar
- Schedule
- Results
- Day 1-2 Recap
Artistic swimmers Nargiza Bolatova and Eduard Kim made history for Kazakhstan on Sunday with the nation’s first ever gold medal at the World Aquatics Championships in the mixed duet technical event.
Bolatova and Kim rallied from 4th in prelims to win with 228.005 points, just ahead of China’s Cheng Wentao and Shi Haoyu (223.3166). They performed their routine to the theme of Tim Burton’s animated musical fantasy, “Corpse Bride.”
“I cannot explain what I feel, it is a mixture of everything,” Bolatova said. “I think this medal is a great surprise to all of us. We made history today with this gold. I cannot believe this is happening, the emotions are very strong.”
At the 2023 World Championships last summer in Fukuoka, Kim became Kazakhstan’s first Worlds medalist with a bronze in the men’s solo technical event.
“Coming to Doha, we did not expect that we will become the world champions,” Kim said. “It is a dream – we did not even think we would win a medal.”
Mexico’s Miranda Barrera Jimenez and Diego Villalobos Carrillo rounded out the podium with a 3rd-place finish.
Women’s Duet Free
- Wang Liuyi and Wang Qianyi (CHN) – 250.7729
- Bregje and Noortje de Brouwer (NED) – 250.4979
- Kate Shortman and Isabelle Thorpe (GBR) – 247.2626
On Thursday, two different sets of twins from China and the Netherlands went down to the wire in the women’s duet free. China’s Wang Liuyi and Wang Qianyi prevailed with 250.7729 points, just .275 ahead of the Netherlands’ Bregje and Noortje de Brouwer. It was the fourth gold of the competition for the Wang twins, who won the women’s duet technical event while also helping China to mixed team acrobatic and mixed team technical titles.
The de Brouwer twins scored high for their “Van Gogh” choreography, improving upon their 4th-place finish in the duet technical final last week. Great Britain’s Kate Shortman and Isabelle Thorpe took bronze after winning silver behind the Wang twins in the women’s duet technical final.
Men’s Solo Free
- Giorgio Minisini (ITA) – 210.1355
- Dennis Gonzalez Boneu (ESP) – 196.2750
- Gustavo Sanchez (COL) – 192.0812
After battling back from a knee injury that forced him to miss the 2023 World Championships, Giorgio Minisini claimed his first individual world crown in the men’s solo free on Wednesday. The 27-year-old Italian added to his medal haul in Doha after earning silver in Monday’s solo technical behind 16-year-old Chinese phenom Shuncheng Yang, who missed the podium in this event. Minisini, a three-time duet world champion, said he was dreaming of his comeback ever since he watched last year’s Worlds from his couch.
“In Fukuoka, I saw this event from my couch and I was dreaming about this moment since I had my knee injury,” said Minisini, who swam to Andrea Bocelli’s “Hallelujah.” “So this is the conclusion of one chapter and we can start all over again. This competition really showed me how much I need to work on both – athletic side and mental side, mental management of the competition.”
Dennis Gonzalez Boneu, the defending champion from Spain, took silver while Colombia’s Gustavo Sanchez fought back from 6th place after prelims to earn another bronze medal. Sanchez also placed 3rd in the men’s solo technical event on Monday.
Women’s Solo Free
- Jacqueline Simoneau (CAN) – 264.8207
- Evangelia Platanioti (GRE) – 253.2833
- Vasilina Khandoshka (NIA) – 174.1542
Four-time Pan Ams champion Jacqueline Simoneau bounced back from a runner-up finish in the solo technical behind Greece’s Evangelia Platanioti to triumph in the solo free on Tuesday.
“I had always dreamt of becoming the world champion,” Simoneau said. “I don’t think I can ask for anything more. It has been a team effort and this gold medal goes to all of us. It’s not easy to reach the top. It tests you and the difficulty increases every other tournament.”
Simoneau finished about 11 points ahead of Platanioti, who said she wasn’t expecting the Canadian to raise her difficulty level so much in the final.
“I gave everything I had and seeing the happiness on my coaches’ faces, it feels as if I had won another gold medal tonight,” said Platanioti. “Honestly, I couldn’t have won gold on this because the difference between me and Jacqueline Simoneau on difficulty was too big. She raised her difficulty level a lot for the final – I wasn’t expecting that.”
Mixed Team Technical
- China – 299.8712
- Spain – 275.8925
- Japan – 275.8787
China got back on top of the podium in the mixed team technical event with 299.8712 points, nearly 24 points ahead of the field. China won this event in 2022, but fell to 7th place in Fukuoka last summer. Spain and Japan were separated by a fraction of a point for the silver medal.
Men’s Solo Technical
- Shuncheng Yang (CHN) – 246.4766
- Giorgio Minisini (ITA) – 245.3166
- Gustavo Sanchez (COL) – 231
16-year-old Chinese phenom Yang Shuncheng pulled out a clutch performance in his final routine to beat Italian veteran Giorgio Minisini by just over a point in the men’s solo technical event on Monday.
“When I saw the Italian competitor got a score higher than that, I felt super stressed,” said Yang, who’s 11 years younger than Minisini. “But I turned stress into motivation, to perform better. I had to make sure I had enough energy because my performance under water was a difficult one. I focused a lot on achieving high-quality performance on artistic impression compared to difficulty.”
Colombia’s Gustavo Sanchez took bronze after placing 4th in Fukuoka last summer.
“This is a reward for the huge effort we have made as we didn’t stop training all December and January and it gives me a great satisfaction,” said Sanchez.
Mixed Team Acrobatic
- China – 244.1767
- Ukraine – 243.3167
- United States – 242.23
Less than two points separated the three podium finishers as China defended its mixed team acrobatic world title on Sunday with 244.1767 points ahead of Ukraine (243.3167) and the United States (242.23).
The U.S. rose to 3rd after placing 6th in prelims.
“It feels amazing to have a medal on my neck,” said 43-year-old American legend Bill May. “We had to switch one member of the team before the start so we were a bit nervous. We came to give a show. We acted as one.”
China had already qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics with their victory at the Asian Games while Ukraine and the U.S. had yet to qualify. There are five team berths for the Paris 2024 Olympics up for grabs at the 2024 World Championships in Doha.
| Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  China |
5 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 2 |  Canada |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
 Greece |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
 Italy |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 5 |  Kazakhstan |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 |  Spain |
0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 |  Great Britain |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 |  Netherlands |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Ukraine |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 10 |  Colombia |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 11 |  Japan |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Mexico |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Neutral Independent Athletes |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 United States |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
High Five!