Sports
Artistic swimming stars set for 2025 Super Final showdown
While the event will be straight ‘shoot-out’ for the medals, the two best World Cup scores attained by an individual, duet or national team, will be combined with that attained in the Super Final, to determine the seasonal prize money standings. Image Source: Team Italy poses with their gold medals after winning the team acrobatic […]

While the event will be straight ‘shoot-out’ for the medals, the two best World Cup scores attained by an individual, duet or national team, will be combined with that attained in the Super Final, to determine the seasonal prize money standings.
Image Source: Team Italy poses with their gold medals after winning the team acrobatic final during Artistic Swimming World Cup 2025 event in Markham, Canada (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Following three high-class World Cup legs – which have taken place across Europe (Paris, France), Africa (Somabay, Egypt) and North America (Markham, Canada), the 2025 series will conclude with a fourth different continent stop – Asia.
The setting, which will see the top 12-ranked nations in each discipline battle it out for highly sought-after Super Final honours, is also apt, with China having made history by claiming both the Team and Duet Olympic titles for the first time at last year’s Games.
They will again be among the major contenders across the 11 medal contests, which consist of Open Team, Women’s Duet, Mixed Duet, Men’s and Women’s Solo events.
Another nation expected to push for the top of the podium, across multiple disciplines, is Spain, with their new head coach – four-time Olympic medallist Andrea Fuentes – insisting they have arrived in China with a “winning mindset.”
“We thank World Aquatics for this cultural wealth (with four events across four continents) and honestly it’s been really cool,” says Fuentes, who guided her nation to medals in each of the 11 disciplines at the European Championships, which concluded just last week.
“I’m proud of the team’s mindset and as Paula (Ramirez) has said, we treat the Europeans as the ‘World semi-finals’ and here for the finals, it also prepares us for what comes in a month’s time, in Singapore (2025 World Aquatics Championships).”
Here, World Aquatics takes a look at some of the leading contenders in each of the disciplines ahead of the World Cup Super Final in China.
Image Source: Team USA in the Team Acrobatic Routine at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (Adam Pretty/Getty Images)
The clashes between Olympic silver medallists USA and Paris 2024 third-place finishers Spain, have been some of the most highly-anticipated and ultimately spectacular showings of the season so far and further ‘fireworks’ are predicted in China.
While the hosts have generally fielded younger athletes during the regular World Cup season, in preparation for the World Championships in July, several of those who helped the nation claim Olympic gold last year will now return to their line-up.
Paris 2024 champions Chang Hao, Feng Yu, Xiang Binxuan and Zhang Yayi bring medal-winning experience to the line-up and while the overall title is likely out of reach, they will be expected to push for the podium places with Spain and USA.
Heading into the Super Final Spain, as previously referenced, hold a strong lead in the overall rankings after consistently strong performances.
After contesting only the Team Technical discipline in Paris, which they won with a dazzling delivery of their routine to the Backstreet Boy’s ‘backstreet’s back’ track, they added they added the complete line-up to their programme in Somabay and Markham.
They have so far won each of the Technical finals and both of the Free contests and placed third at the European Championships in Funchal, Madeira, last week after debuting their new Acrobatic routine.
That will give other nation’s hope, with the USA as well as regular World Cup medallists Japan, the rapidly improving Italians, France – who were fourth at Paris 2024 – and the emerging young Ukrainian talents, each possessing strong podium potential.
Image Source: Txell Ferre Gaset and Lilou Lluis Valette of Team Spain compete in the women’s duet technical final during World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup in Markham, Canada (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
With the Olympic Duet medal winners from each of the three nations – China, Great Britain and the Netherlands – yet to return to the discipline after post-Games breaks from the sport, the 2025 campaign has seen given new talents the opportunity to showcase their potential.
Spaniard’s Txell Ferre Gaset and Lilou Lluis Valette currently lead the overall standings, having placed first in Paris and second in Markham in the Tech discipline, but Lluis Vallette’s partnership with Iris Tio Casas in the Free event, might represent a better chance of gold.
They won in Markham last time out, and were second to the Italians – who will not compete in China – at the Europeans last week.
Japan too will be strong across both disciplines, with Tomoka Sato regularly claiming Free discipline honours with Uta Kobayashi and Tech honours, alongside Moe Higa, this season.
The challenge posed by China’s duet; Lin sisters Yanhan and Yanjun, can also not be overlooked, with the siblings placing second in Markham and the pair keen to put down a marker ahead of the World Championships where they aim to continue their nation’s winning run at major events, following the Wang sister’s Olympic success last year.
Image Source: Guo Muxi and Gu Jiayu of China compete in the Mixed Duet Free final at the Artistic Swimming World Cup – Beijing 2024 (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
The athletes in this field may have experienced the recent blow of learning the mixed duet discipline will not feature as part of the LA 2028 Olympic Games programme, but that has seemingly only provided further ‘fuel to the flame’.
The strength and creativity demonstrated in performances has only increased throughout the season and these will be among the major draws across the three days in Xi’an.
Jordi Caceres Iglesias of Spain may top the overall rankings, alongside Lazaro Cabaleiro Aurora, but he is only a reserve for this discipline. World champion Dennis Gonzalez Boneu is set to line-up with Iris Tio Casas (Free) and Mireia Hernandez Luna, after claiming European titles with each in Portugal last week.
Image Source: Steph Chambers/Getty Images
They will be strong gold medal favourites again, but the chance to see individual star siblings Guo Muye and Sitong team up will offer a fascinating prospect for fans in venue and watching across the world.
Another fascinating recent pairing, who began their partnership with European silver earlier in the week, sees Olympic medallist Izzy Thorpe join Ranjuo Tomblin in each of the Mixed Duet disciplines.
Thorpe took time away from the sport following her history-making success, alongside Kate Shortman, at Paris 2024 and has joined Tomblin in a bid to create a possible World Championship medal-winning pair for Singapore 2025.
Tomblin himself has a growing reputation in the sport, having claimed maiden World Cup honours during 2025, including golds across Mixed Duet and Solo disciplines.
The subhead may suggest this is all about two men – and they are both strong contenders – but the men’s field possesses a host of seasoned performers who are capable of strong medal challenges across the Free and Tech disciplines.
With three victories so far this season, 17-year-old Guo Muye (CHN) leads the overall standings ahead of Spanish breakthrough star Jordi Canceres Iglesias and Britain’s Ranjuo Tomblin.
The latter underlined their strong form with a European title each last week, but Canceres Iglesias will only contest the Free event, as team-mate and icon Dennis Gonzalez Boneu takes on the Tech discipline.
With Gonzalez making history this season as part of the Spanish team line-up, he has devoted less time to solo events, but the World and European champion is likely to be a contender across this, as well as his team and Mixed Duet disciplines.
Gustavo Sanchez of Colombia is the most experienced athlete in the men’s field and a seasoned medal-winner, who along with Diego Villalobos Carrillo (MEX) and Viktor Druzin (KAZ), should have strong podium potential.
Image Source: Klara Bleyer of Germany competes in the Woman Solo Free Final at the Artistic Swimming World Cup Super Final in Budapest, Hungary (David Balogh/Getty Images)
18-year-old Mari Alavidze of Georgia leads the overall standings despite only attaining one podium finish so far this season, with second place in the Women’s Solo Free in Markham.
Although a consistent performer, as is second-placed Rachel Thean of Singapore and Kazak swimmer Karina Magrupova, the major medal challenges are likely to be posed by other athletes in the field.
Germany’s Klara Bleyer has built on last season’s breakthrough campaign with a two solo titles on the World Cup circuit in 2025 and claimed a historic European title for her nation last week.
The progress of Olympic team bronze medal winning Spanish athlete Iris Tio Casas has been keenly watched this season, with the 22-year-old finally given the opportunity to showcase her individual talents and Tech success in Paris demonstrated her potential.
Vasilina Khandoshka may be sixth in the overall rankings, but that is largely owing to the fact she did not compete in Markham. Across the four events in the other two World Cup legs she placed on the podium in each, marking her out as a clear one-to-watch in China.
Doha 2024 World championship bronze medallist Xu Huiyan is the one many fans of the sport will be backing for success in her homeland though.
She won double gold in her solo debut at the Beijing leg of the 2024 World Cup and has placed no lower than second in her seven subsequent individual outings.
Image Source: Lin Yanhan and Lin Yanjun of Team China compete in the women’s duet technical final during Artistic Swimming World Cup 2025 in Markham, Canada (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
To find out where to watch the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup Super Final in Xi’an, China, check out our Where to Watch Guide.
For a full run-down of the event schedule, visit World Aquatics’ Xi’an 2025 event page.