Russia Tops Medal Table at 2026 World Junior Artistic Swimming Championships

Dragon Media News Desk

Russia finished at the top of the medal table as the 2026 World Aquatics Junior Artistic Swimming Championships concluded on Sunday, winning nine gold medals and one bronze.

Spain placed second with two golds, four silvers and four bronzes, while China finished third with five silver medals and two bronzes.

On the final day, Russia’s Ekaterina Shtatnova won gold in the women’s solo free final. Spain’s Naia Alvarez claimed silver, while China’s Zhou Kunyi secured bronze with 261.4876 points for her routine themed “Time Gap.”

In the men’s solo free final, Russia’s Zakhar Trofimov earned his third gold medal of the championships with a score of 267.0426.

Spain’s Eneko Sanchez took silver and Kazakhstan’s Viktor Druzin won bronze. China’s Chen Xiuping finished fourth with a routine themed “Journey Through the Secret Realm.”

Russia also won the team free final, scoring 277.6814 points.

China earned silver with 261.3654 points for a routine inspired by the traditional Chinese piece “High Mountains and Flowing Water,” while Spain took bronze with 251.1846.

Three-time Olympic champion Svetlana Kolesnichenko, now coaching Russia’s junior team, said success under the current rules requires a balance between technical difficulty and artistic quality.

“We are artistic swimming, and we should create with the artistry too, and work with difficulty, of course,” she said.

Kolesnichenko added that the Russian team is continuously searching for new ideas in order to remain competitive at the highest level.

“We try to think and create something new every day to stay stronger and be on the top,” she said.

Spain coach Sandra Montes similarly emphasized the need to maintain artistic impression while increasing technical difficulty.

She also highlighted the close relationship between Spain’s junior and senior programmes, noting that younger athletes train alongside the senior national team throughout the year.

“They are training together all the year. That’s an important part of the results,” Montes said.

The championships attracted nearly 300 athletes from more than 35 countries and regions.

Russia’s nine-gold performance underlined its continued strength in junior artistic swimming, while Spain and China also delivered strong results to secure second and third places respectively in the overall medal standings.