Spain’s golden flourish at artistic swimming World Cup in Markham, Canada

Spain secured five of the 11 available titles at the third stop of the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Markham, Canada, underlining its status as the rising force in the sport.

And in what was a hugely impressive European showing, Great Britain, Italy and Austria also earned gold.

Dennis Gonzalez, 20, was a key performer for Spain – now guided by the coach who helped the United States to Olympic team silver last year, Andrea Fuentes – as he made the top step of the podium three times.

Gonzalez – who made history last month by becoming the first male to compete in his country’s team free routine – repeated that distinction and once again helped Spain to victory with a total of 312.9363 points, as Japan and the United States completed the podium on 294.9916 and 291.1363 respectively.

Earlier he had partnered Mireia Hernandez to gold in the mixed duet technical, where they scored 212.3391 to hold off the challenge of China’s Sitong Guo and Haoyue Shi, respectively 17 and 18, who scored 209.6841.

And he added another gold on the final day as he and Iris Tio Casas won the mixed duet free on 294.6284, with their compatriots Jordi Caceres Iglesias and Aurora Lazaro Cabaleiro claiming bronze on 268.2267, one place behind the Chinese pairing of 16-year-old Muye Guo and Jinhan Liu, who scored 276.9909.

Spain’s other wins came in the women’s duet free and team technical events. Eighteen-year-old Lluis Valette and Tio Casas combined to win the duet gold on 257.9868 ahead of China’s Yanhan and Yanjun Lin on 253.0640, with bronze going to France’s 18-year-old Laelys Alavez and 20-year-old Romane Lunel on  241.9951.

In the team technical event Spain scored 279.4640 to finish ahead of Japan, on 271.4275, and the United States, on 266.6599, with Italy placing fourth.

And there was gold for Italy in the concluding team acrobatic event, where they scored 199.4300 to finish ahead of a Spain – featuring Gonzalez once more – on 181.6612 and France on 181.5826.

Austria’s Anna-Maria and Eirini-Marina Alexandri, who missed out on Olympic gold by one place last summer, won the women’s duet technical with a score of  290.3009.

It was the first competitive appearance for the pair since what they described as their “devastating” result in Paris.

Two more rising talents from Spain, Txell Ferre Gaset and Lilou Lluis Valette, both 18, took silver on 284.2959, with China’s Yanhan and Yanjun Lin third on 279.5150.

Britain’s gold came thanks to 19-year-old European champion Ranjuo Tomblin, who became the first male athlete from his country to win a World Cup medal in taking two golds at the opening leg of this season’s competition in Paris.

He reprised his Paris victory in the men’s solo technical event as he scored 218.1667 to finish ahead of Mexico’s Diego Villalobos Carrillo on 214.8667. And he added a bronze in a men solo free event won by China’s Guo.

The third member of the Alexandri triplets, Vasiliki, also made the podium as she finished third in the women’s solo technical. The 27-year-old, voted female artistic swimmer of the year for 2024 in the European Aquatics awards, totalled 243.9716 in a competition won by China’s 19-year-old Huiyan Xu on 252.3116, with Tio Casas adding to the Spanish medal collection with silver on 246.4850.

Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics

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