The fourth leg of the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series 2018 came to an end in Samorin (SVK) today, Sunday May 13. The last competition day saw performances in four disciplines: free solo, free duet, free mixed duet and highlight.

The multiple European champion Linda Cerruti of Italy confirmed her supremacy and claimed gold in free solo.

Performing the theme of angel and devil to the song “My angel” from “Massive attack”, the star of the event earned 88,7000 points – the second highest score through this competition.

However, Linda expected to get more:

“I’m not pleased with the score. Two weeks ago in Japan I got almost 90 points. I know that in this competition the scores are lower in general. So, I think I can be happy with the performance. I must say, today I feel more comfortable in the outdoor pool than two days ago. I got used to these conditions. As always, I’m aiming for improvement. Especially in free routine, because the last figure is very difficult and requires high vertical.”

 

Linda Cerruti (ITA)

Cerruti is going to join the team routine at the next leg of FINA Artistic Swimming World Series in Budapest (HUN).

“I will go to Rome and train a lot with the team”, the Italian concluded.

The other medals in free solo went to Vasilina Khandoshka from Belarus (85,1000) and Vasiliki Alexandri from Austria (84,900), who swapped podium places in comparison with tech solo results.

Vasilina Khandoshka, performing to the Stravinsky ballet music “The Firebird”, was glad to have improved her scores and placement since the technical event.

“I did a better job in free routine. All elements were executed on a good level. Still it was hard for me to perform. I’m not used to the sun, so I got burned. Next week I will compete indoor at Budapest leg. Hopefully, I will improve my results.”

 

Vasilina Khandoshka (BLR)

Austrian swimmer Vasiliki Alexandri is also looking forward to competing in Budapest.

“It’s a little bit more difficult to perform here, because we train normally in the indoor pool. But it’s the same for everyone. I’m not satisfied with the marks. My goal is to take 86 points like at the Budapest World Championships last summer. I hope next week at the fifth leg of the World Series I will achieve this goal.”

 

Vasiliki Alexandri (AUT)

The Italian girls were again the favourites in free duet. Linda Cerruti paired up with Costanza Ferro and bagged her second gold medal of the day. They took the lead earning 88,9000 points.

Irene Jimeno and Iris Tio of Spain, who compete at the junior level just yet and train for the European championships in Finland and the World Championships in Budapest, finished second 4,6 points behind the winners (84,3000).

Iryna Limanouskaya and Veronica Yesipovich of Belarus were third, scoring 83,9668.

“This was the last competition day, so we didn’t save pains, we gave it our all in this routine, which we adore. Both the music and the alien theme inspire us. We have already performed this program at the Aquatic World’s in Budapest last summer and we are going to bring it to perfection for the Europeans in Glasgow,” the Belarus swimmer duet said.

After missing medals and finishing fourth in the technical team and free combination, the Slovakian squad gave joy to the home crowd and captured gold in a new acrobatic discipline – the Highlight.

The local heroes got 73,0668 points, their only opponents were second with 71,4000.

Making a comparison between today’s performance and the other two at Paris and Beijing ASWS stages, Romana Horska (SVK) commented:

“Our coach Gabor Szauder said that we ran a very good routine, better than in practices and at the previous legs of World Series as well. He is satisfied because we are going for it and for each competition.”

Then she added: “I think most of the girls like the highlight routine. It’s not so long - about 2 min, so it’s easier in execution. Besides, it’s more funny and entertaining for the audience.”

The head coach of team Slovakia Gabor Szauder summed up the results:

“We are happy about what we have. We claimed a bronze medal in tech duet. We got gold in highlight. The crowd and the Slovak people made the atmosphere unforgettable. The girls really went on fire. It’s amazing to see them so excited and performing so good. I believe that competition is the best practice. We have benefited a lot from this event and we keep on working to the main target of this year – the junior World championships in Budapest and European championships in Glasgow”.

Ibon Garcia and Nayara Maria Pena (ESP) made the last performance of the competition. The Spanish mixed duet scored 68,3000 points for their free routine.

The next meet of the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series 2018 will take place in Budapest (HUN), May 18-20.