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E-mail Xinhua, August 11, 2024
Wang Liuyi/Wang Qianyi of China compete during the duet free routine of artistic swimming at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Saint-Denis, France, Aug. 10, 2024. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)
World champions Wang Liuyi/Wang Qianyi showed their versatility in the artistic swimming duet free routine and clinched China's first ever Olympic duet title on Saturday.
China then topped the artistic swimming medal table with two golds, while the United States and Britain collected one silver each, and the Netherlands and Spain harvested one bronze each.
Four pairs of twins, including the Wangs, were in the duet competition, in which the Chinese sisters led the duet technical routine 276.7867 and finished fourth in the duet free, scoring 289.6916 points and totaling 566.4783 for the victory.
The Wang sisters immediately burst into tears, hearing their total score announced.
"It was a bittersweet feeling because we were under great pressure before the duet free, since we don't have the highest difficult routine. We might have lost despite our early lead in the duet technical," said elder Wang Liuyi, who had missed the Tokyo 2020 due to injury.
The Chinese twins performed the theme of Cheetahs on Saturday night, demonstrating their speed, power and the tempo of the music.
"Our advantage was the artistic expression and high quality," said the younger sister Wang Qianyi, silver medalist in the team event in Tokyo.
Laughing and crying, the 27-year-old Wang sisters celebrated the victory with all teammates and coaches in a circle.
"It was our first duet Olympic title and second artistic swimming gold medal for China. We felt proud that we were together in both duet and team events," said Wang Qianyi.
Kate Shortman and. Isabelle Thorpe of Britain took the silver medals with 558.5367, edging Bregje and Nootje de Brouwer of the Netherlands into third place by 0.1404.
Twins Anna-Maria and Eirini-Marina Alexandri of Austria came fourth on 538.6684, while Ukraine's Maryna and Vladyslava Aleksiiva were fifth on 532.3002.
A total of 17 pairs competed in the duet competition, while Italy's Linda Cerruti and Lucrezia Ruggiero withdrew just before the competition.
Wang Liuyi/Wang Qianyi of China compete during the duet free routine of artistic swimming at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Saint-Denis, France, Aug. 10, 2024. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)
Gold medalists Wang Liuyi/Wang Qianyi of China celebrate after the victory ceremony for the duet free routine of artistic swimming at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Saint-Denis, France, Aug. 10, 2024. (Xinhua/Xue Yuge)
