The Chinese national synchronized swimming team won the overall World Trophy title this weekend in Shaoxing, China at the 10th FINA Synchronized Swimming World Trophy event.
The team claimed four out of five gold medals at grabs and amassed 363.3333 points after the two-day competition. Russia and Ukraine were in a tight battle for silver, but Russia edged their European neighbors by a score of 349.5000 to 347.8335. This was Russia’s second straight silver-medal finish. Japan and Spain wound up fourth and fifth respectively.
The Chinese triumphed in the Free Team Routine with a score of 91.8334, while Italy (91.1667) and Japan (86.5000) trailed to second and third. China also won the Highlight routine with 91.3333 ahead of Russia (87.6666) and Japan (86.8333). China prevailed in the Free Combination and Thematic Duet competitions as well.
Giorgio Minisini and Mariangela Perrupato of Italy claimed gold in the Mixed Deut with 89.1667. Ukraine’s combination of Kateryna Reznik and Anton Timofeyev came in second, while Spain’s Sanz Ferreras and Pau Ribes claimed third.
This is China’s fourth overall title, the most of any nation. Spain (3), Russia (2), and Canada (1) are the only other nations to win the overall World Trophy title. As shown below, China’s dominance has surged in the past four years:
Podium of the previous editions:
2006 (Moscow, RUS): 1. Russia, 2. Spain, 3. Japan
2007 (Rio de Janeiro, BRA): 1. Russia, 2. Spain, 3. United States
2008 (Madrid, ESP): 1. Spain, 2. China, 3. Russia
2009 (Montreal, CAN): 1. Canada 2. Russia 3. Spain
2010 (Moscow, RUS): 1. Spain 2. Russia 3. Ukraine
2011 (Beijing, CHN): 1. Spain 2. China 3. Canada
2012 (Mexico City, MEX): 1. China 2. Japan 3. Ukraine
2013 (Mexico City, MEX): 1. China 2. Ukraine 3. Spain
2014 (Beijing, CHN): 1. China, 2. Russia, 3. Canada
2015: (Shaoxing, China): 1. China, 2. Russia, 3. Ukraine