The final day of the Russian Synchronised Swimming Championships was dedicated to duets’ freestyle routines. Varvara Kreopalova and Alyona Matvienko from Moscow got 93.8000 points, winning gold medals.
The winning routine is completely new. “We were supposed to perform it in Moscow this March, but as the Championships were rescheduled, we only managed to do it now,” the winners shared. “We came up with our routine in just a few days. And we began practicing it as soon as we were officially allowed to train.” According to Varvara and Alyona, this particular competition was especially challenging, due to a large gap in their training schedule. “This routine is the most complex part of our duo’s repertoire, and it made us the most anxious; we invested the most effort into it. We are happy with our performance today,” said the athletes.
The second place on the pedestal went to Anastasiya Bakhtyreva and Aleksandra Bykova from the Moscow-2 team (92.2333 points).
The bronze medals were awarded to Darya Bokova and Svetlana Denisova from the Moscow Oblast (91.8333 points).
With the scores for the technical and freestyle routines combined, Varvara Kreopalova and Alyona Matvienko are also in the lead (183.7941 points). They are followed by Darya Bokova and Svetlana Denisova (180.0511 points). Darya Lyakhova and Elizaveta Smirnova – a duet from Saint Petersburg – come third, with 179.6099 points.
Mixed duos also presented their own freestyle routines. The winners were Mikhail Vasilyev and Alina Mantulenko from the Moscow Oblast, who got 91.0333 points. Anna Gordeeva and Artur Korshunov, athletes from Tatarstan, earned 84.6667 points.
Mikhail Vasilyev and Alina Mantulenko’s routine is called Tango, and it’s completely new. “We performed it for the first time in Paris early this year. Before that, we spent about a month and a half designing it, then two months rehearsing it,” Alina explained. “In August, after the quarantine was lifted, we began getting the routine ready for the Russian Championships. So this was the routine’s re-launch.” During the quarantine, the athletes had had to train online, with no water to swim in. “It took a lot of getting used to,” they admitted. “I have never had to go without swimming for such a long time, so re-adjusting to the load was hard for me, I had to take vitamins to keep fit. So I am glad that we made it and gave a good performance,” Alina noted. The duo plans to take part in the Russian Championships in 2021, as well as in the FINA leg.
Press office of ANO “Directorate for Sports and Social Projects”