China's young artistic swimmers make a splash at home World Cup

by Li Jia, Gao Meng and Yao Youming

XI'AN, China, June 15 (Xinhua) -- With the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup Super Final having concluded in Xi'an on Sunday, host China dominated, winning seven of 11 events.

China secured the team acrobatic title in the final discipline, adding to a silver and bronze medal won earlier in the day.

Reigning Olympic champions in both duet and team events, China's team has been in a transitional period since the 2024 Paris Olympics, with veteran and younger athletes working together.

Rising star Xu Huiyan, 19, has established herself as one to watch with exceptional technical skills and remarkable consistency. The teenager delivered a spectacular performance in Xi'an, claiming five gold medals from six events entered.

After winning the women's solo technical and duet technical over the previous two days, Xu took a bronze in the solo free on Sunday and was also in China's winning line-up across three team events.

The tight schedule tested her endurance. "The intensity of this competition was quite high for me, with a packed schedule from morning till night," she revealed. "With better stamina, I could have controlled my movements and techniques more precisely and stayed more focused. But when my energy runs low, like today, it really affects my performance."

Her coach, Shen Yingsha, had initially been concerned about Xu's stamina, given this was her first time competing in multiple events, "Her performance exceeded expectations," said Shen.

In the final, Vasilina Khandoshka scored 229.8476 to win the women's solo free, while Germany's Klara Bleyer came second in 227.5688. Xu placed third in 226.5251.

Having started artistic swimming at seven, Xu loves the sport, and has prepared extensively for next month's World Championships.

"During regular training, I practice for about eight to nine hours daily. If the session doesn't go well, I may extend it to ten hours," she said.

On Saturday, Xu partnered with Lin Yanjun to win the women's duet technical event despite having only trained together for three weeks. Their dynamic routine earned an outstanding 289.6150 points, 8.1841 points ahead of Japan's decorated duo Moe Higa and Tomoka Sato.

The new pairing was a strategic decision by head coach Zhang Xiaohuan, who led China to Olympic success last year in Paris. "We're testing different duet configurations before locking in our final pairs - it keeps everyone sharp and motivated through healthy competition," Zhang explained.

The veteran coach sees even greater potential in Xu. "As one of China's top artistic swimmers, Huiyan can still elevate her performance, particularly in achieving more fluid extensions and refining the delicate precision of her leg movements. She has the potential to be even better."

The 22-year-old Lin sisters, Yanjun and Yanhan, later reunited to claim gold in the duet free event. China won the duet event at the Paris Olympics thanks to twin sisters Wang Qianyi and Wang Liuyi, who did not compete in Xi'an.

"Compared to Qianyi and Liuyi, we have so many things to improve," admitted Lin Yanjun. "We are still not as good as them."

China's dominance extended to all three team events, where a balanced squad featuring four Olympic veterans and four newcomers delivered consistently strong performances. Their Terracotta Army-inspired routine in the team acrobatic on Sunday earned them 233.0430 points for the gold medal. Spain and Mexico ranked second and third respectively.

"They are fantastic," said Zhang. "Both the veteran swimmers and the young swimmers performed very well. I'm very happy about the three team gold medals."

The men's artistic swimming also caught spotlight with 17-year-old Guo Muye continuing his rapid ascent. Guo started artistic swimming at eight and his idol is China's famed artistic swimmer Shi Haoyu, two time mixed duet world champion with partner Cheng Wentao.

"I was selected by coaches while training in competitive swimming," Guo recalled. "At that time, there were very few men practicing artistic swimming. My family gave me big support."

Guo's family traveled from Beijing to Xi'an to cheer him on. "My father, aunt, uncle and little sister are all here supporting me," said Guo, whose twin brother, Guo Muxi, is also an artistic swimmer.

Guo claimed one gold and three silvers in Xi'an, including victory in the men's solo free. On Sunday, he and Liu Jinhan secured the mixed duet free silver with 275.0896, over 15 points behind Spain's duo Dennis Gonzalez and Iris Tio, who won the discipline with 290.2184.

Showing self-awareness, Guo acknowledged areas for growth. "My strength lies in the smooth execution of technical elements, but I still need to improve my artistic expression, which remains a weaker area," he said.

Zhang expressed satisfaction with the younger swimmers' performances but added that there was much still to improve on. "We've identified weaknesses but also potential. Going forward, we'll focus on strengthening team cohesion and perfecting our synchronized execution," she said.

"Competing at home in this pre-worlds event has given us much confidence - the perfect warm-up before the world championships," the coach added. ■