Funchal 2025: Austria and Spain make golden start to the European Aquatics Artistic Swimming Championships
The opening day of the European Aquatics Artistic Swimming Championships Funchal 2025 saw one title regained, as Austria’s Anna-Maria and Eirini-Marina Alexandri repeated their 2023 win in the duet technical, and one retained, as Spain’s Dennis Gonzalez Boneu and Mireia Hernandez Luna made a successful defence in the mixed duet technical.
This first stand-alone edition of the competition, which got underway in the warm sunshine of Madeira, began with the Austrian pair reaffirming their position at the top of the event having had to miss the previous year’s Championships because of illness.
Swimming with the highest declared Degree of Difficulty (35.85) in the field, the triplet sisters were superb in their technique and sharp in their execution in a commanding performance of their new Swan Lake routine.
Their huge score of 301.8800 set a benchmark in the final that proved unassailable. The result is a promising milestone this season for the pair, who debuted this new programme only a few weeks ago at the Markham World Cup.
“We are really happy,” Anna-Maria told European Aquatics. “We can perform our technical elements and the hybrids at such a high level, but mostly because we succeeded with our new pair acrobatic movement.
“It was new for us and we were a bit stressed about it, but we did very well. This is also the first time we pass the 300-points, so this is a very big deal.”
Behind them, Spain’s Meritxell Ferre Gaset and Lilou Lluis Valette clinched silver with 282.1017, an excellent result in their first continental appearance as a duet.
Though newly paired, the two 18-year-olds are no strangers to international success, having won Olympic bronze in Paris in the team event, and having also earned a medal on the World Cup circuit earlier this season.
Swimming to Ex’s & Oh’s by Elle King, they delivered a clean and confident routine that solidifies their standing as one of Europe’s most promising young duets.
“We feel great, but I think we can keep improving,” Meritxell Ferre Gaset said. “In a month or so, we have the World Championships.
“Both of us are doing a lot of other routines, so we haven’t had time to work on this one a lot lately, but we will change some movements and improve our difficulty for the next competition. We know it will be worth it.”
France rounded out the podium with 278.0242, thanks to a strong swim by Anastasia Bayandina and Romane Lunel.
After missing the 2024 European Championships in Belgrade, France’s return to the duet event with a podium finish for the first time since 2004 marks a significant step forward.
Since making their international debut at last summer’s home Olympics in Paris these two have introduced new choreography set to the famous Mamma Mia.
“This feels really good, of course it is always great to win a medal at the European Championships,” Bayandina said. “It has been a long time since France won a medal in duet, so we are very happy about that too.”
Gonzalez Boneu and Hernandez Luna won mixed duet technical gold with a score of 216.1967 through a routine entitled Hip Hop, Let’s Go – originally performed as a free programme in 2024.
With high energy and crisp technical elements, the performance confirmed their status as one of the most consistent mixed duets on the international stage.
“This year, the artistic impression is so important so we have tried to really show that in our routine,” Gonzalez Boneu said. “Of course, to do the technical elements well is also important, but I think we did very well today and we can be proud of our work.”
Making a strong impression in their international debut, Great Britain’s 19-year-old Ranjuo Tomblin – last year’s solo free champion and solo technical silver medallist – and Isabelle Thorpe came very close to the title but had to settle for silver with 214.9441.
The pair brought a dynamic new presence to the event, with Thorpe – who partnered Kate Shortman to two duet silvers at last year’s Championships before taking silver at the Paris 2024 Olympics – making a surprise appearance in mixed duet for the first time in her career.
Swimming to Sax by Fleur East, they impressed with the highest Degree of Difficulty in the final and a confident, energetic routine.
“This is very exciting, as this is our first time swimming together in competition,” Thorpe, 24, commented. “We’re really excited for the rest of the season and to see what we can do with a bit more training together.
“I’ve been really enjoying this experience, it’s so different for me. My whole career, I’ve been swimming duet with Kate [Shortman]. Actually this is my first competition without her at all, so it’s a bit strange, but I’ve really been having a lot of fun swimming in mixed duet.”
Italy’s 18-year-old Filippo Pelati and Lucrezia Ruggiero secured the bronze with 205.9059 after a solid performance to their routine entitled The Beat. The duo had originally planned to debut earlier this year but had to postpone, making this appearance their first together in major competition.
Ruggiero, 24, a world and European champion in this event in 2022, had already competed only a few minutes earlier in the duet technical. She showed great poise in managing the quick turnaround, successfully bouncing back from a disappointing seventh-place finish.
“We are really happy and proud because this is our first international competition,” Ruggiero said. “This is a good step for the World Championships later this year.
“It was pretty difficult for me today. I am used to swimming both duets close together like this in practice, but it’s always different in competition. So I tried to stay calm, to stay in my body, and to do what I do during training.”
The competition continues tomorrow with the women’s and men’s solo free finals starting at 09.00, followed by the team free final at 16.00.
Christina Marmet for European Aquatics
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