The OSV duo won the bronze medal in the final of the free program on Thursday with a new personal best of 92.8000 points, just like on Sunday in the technical decision. Gold went to China (95.5667) ahead of Ukraine (94.1667).
“We are so relieved and extremely happy. But we are also extremely tired,” said Anna-Maria on Margaret Island in the Hungarian capital, overjoyed and completely out of breath. “We are very happy, we were only 0.2 off the 93 points,” added Eirini. According to trainer Albena Mladenowa and sister Vasiliki, it was the “best performance” they have ever shown. When the medal dream came true again, there was a group hug at the edge of the pool, and tears of joy also flowed.
“I thought I was dying”
However, Eirini had to cope with a moment of shock in the 3:15 minute freestyle called “Evil Dolls”. “I swallowed water for the first time in my life,” said the 24-year-old, agitated. She couldn’t breathe for a moment and “thought I was dying”. Her sister also noticed the little faux pas and heard her sister’s short cough, “but you didn’t notice it,” emphasized Anna-Maria.
The European Championships are waiting in Rome in August and with them the next big highlight of the season. With the achievements in Hungary, the native Greeks who came to Austria ten years ago can certainly go to Italy with plenty of self-confidence. “Now we are working on the goal of beating Ukraine,” announced Anna-Maria. At the Olympics, the gap had been five to six points, now it’s only about 1.3 points. And Ukraine will be the big competitor for gold in Rome.
Nevertheless, the motto is: “Keep your feet on the ground and work very hard,” said Eirini. “We hope for silver and we want to keep improving.” To celebrate the day, the Alexandri sisters again had a large portion of sweets at the hotel buffet. “We won’t really realize that until the next few days.”
Dry spell of 34 years ended
For the Austrian Swimming Federation (OSV), these are the only two medals at the world championships in synchronized swimming and in the ongoing title fights in Hungary. The duo, who finished seventh at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, celebrated their fourth medal overall at major events. At the EM 2021 they also won bronze twice in Budapest.
Austria’s synchronized swimmers had previously had a dry spell of 34 years without a medal, and Eva Worisch won silver at the 1987 European Championships in Strasbourg. In the Hungarian capital, the Russian gold favorites, who had been excluded due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, were absent.
Source: Nachrichten
