The 2023
LEN European Junior Artistic Swimming Championships got underway today in
Funchal on the Portuguese island of Madeira. For five days, the top
up-and-coming athletes of the continent aged between 15 and 20 years old
compete in the first major junior international competition under the new
artistic swimming rules.
The first
medals of the championships were awarded on August 2nd, Wednesday evening, in
the team technical event, which saw seven nations participate. The same
countries as in 2022 found themselves again on the podium, albeit in a slightly
different order.
Gold went
to the defending champions Spain, who were unbeatable with their “Namasté”
routine. The Spaniards scored 237.6250 and were credited their full Degree of
Difficulty (DD) of 30.95. They were ultimately the only team of the final to
not receive any base marks on their elements — a base mark is the difficulty
value that will be credited to each element when it is not performed as
declared. It is inherently lower and hence will significantly impact a
routine’s total.
In
Funchal, the Italians moved up to the silver medal position thanks to a score
of 207.5483, although with two base marks, for their “Fire” choreography. The
French squad scored 199.7533 and earned bronze for their “Daft Punk” routine.
They had the highest declared DD of the field, 34.70, but also had trouble
executing everything properly. They ultimately received two base marks as well
for a total DD of 21.70.
The
competition started off in the morning with the female solo free preliminary,
where 18 athletes vied for a spot in the top 12 to qualify to the final. Five
soloists were fresh out of competing in the same event at the World Aquatics
Championships in Fukuoka. All ultimately placed in the top five in this
preliminary round.
Klara
Bleyer of Germany finished first with a score of 195.8563. The 19-year-old came
into this event with the second-highest declared DD of the field with a 34.10.
Even though she received a base mark, her strong performance was still enough
to qualify for the final in the top spot.
Susanna
Pedotti of Italy, reigning European junior silver medallist, finished second
with a 186.2708, while Laelys Alavez of France, fourth in 2022, received
177.6104 for third place.
Fellow
World Championships competitors Maria Alavidze of Georgia and Ece Üngör of
Türkiye ranked fourth and fifth respectively. Üngör just made history in
Fukuoka by qualifying to the solo free final, hence bringing her country to a
World Championship artistic swimming final for the very first time.
Soloists
from Spain, Great Britain, Greece, Austria, Czechia, Sweden, and Finland have
also qualified to the solo free final scheduled for Saturday.
The
competition continues tomorrow with the Duet Free Preliminary at 09:30,
followed by the Female and Male Solo Technical Finals as well as the Free
Combination Routine Final at 17:00.
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