China’s artistic swimming team completed a historic clean sweep at the World Aquatics Championships on Friday, capturing gold in the team acrobatic final and sweeping all three team titles.
Under the theme “Soul of the Terracotta Army,” the squad led the prelims with 225.7993 points and delivered a 1.4% boost—scoring 229.0186 in the final—to fend off Neutral Athletes B (NAB) and Spain.
This victory marked China’s fourth gold in artistic swimming at the meet and highlighted a breakthrough solo title in the women’s event—the country’s first-ever solo gold at this level.
Coach Zhang Xiaohuan reflected on the journey: “Although we won three gold medals in the team events, I don’t think that means we’re absolutely dominant. We’re still in the process of exploration. We’re also learning from our competitors. There is, in fact, a lot of confusion and anxiety throughout this journey.”
He added, “Deep down, I have greater expectations in the new Olympic cycle, and with the new lineup. I believe the Championships still marked a significant breakthrough for us – the gold medal in the women’s solo event was the first in our history – something we had never achieved before.”
With a blend of cultural storytelling, technical precision, and data-driven training, China has raised the bar—setting a new benchmark for artistic swimming as it gears up for the next Olympic cycle.
Reference(s):
China sweep team golds in artistic swimming at World Championships
cgtn.com
