In the stands of the Palau Sant Jordi, during the 2013 World Cup in Barcelona, a girl named Iris Tió caught the attention of many. At just nine years old, she pointed to the pool and declared, “I want to be like her”. The girl she was referring to was Ona Carbonell, a renowned Spanish artistic swimmer. Fast forward to today, and Iris Tió has become the new star of Spanish artistic swimming, symbolizing the resurrection of the national team.
The Spanish artistic swimming team experienced a significant setback after the Anna Tarrés case, which led to the dismissal of their coach and the departure of several swimmers. As a result, they missed the Rio 2016 Olympics and struggled to regain their former glory. However, for the Paris 2024 Olympics, they have already secured two spots and are once again aiming for medals.
At the recent World Cup in Doha, Tió and her partner Alisa Ozhogina, along with the team, finished in fourth position. While there is still work to be done, there is plenty of time and drive to improve, with the possibility of achieving great success in the coming months. So, how did Spain revive its artistic swimming? It can be attributed to the enthusiasm of young athletes like Tió, the efforts of the new technical team led by Mayuko Fujiki, and changes in the regulations.
The coach, Fujiki, praises Iris and Alisa as “two stars” who made their debut in Tokyo at a young age and are expected to follow in the footsteps of previous Spanish champions like Ona Carbonell and Gemma Mengual. Despite coming from different training backgrounds, Tió from Kallipolis of Barcelona and Ozhogina from Sincro Sevilla, both have displayed the style and techniques reminiscent of Russia’s artistic swimming school, which has traditionally dominated the sport.
While Tió and Ozhogina achieved success at the recent championship, earning bronze in the duo and silver with the team in the technical part, they faced challenges in the free exercises and acrobatic part. The coach acknowledges that improvements need to be made to secure a spot on the podium in Paris.
After the departure of Anna Tarrés in 2012, the technical direction of the national team was greatly affected. It was only in 2017 that Mayuko Fujiki took over as the coach, bringing her experience as a bronze medalist with the Japanese team in the 1996 Atlanta Games. Fujiki had previously worked as an advisor to Tarrés and had experience coaching in the United States and China. She introduced new methodologies and worked towards uniting swimmers from different regions of Spain.
One significant change in the sport is the new regulations that have made artistic swimming more unpredictable. The sport, previously known as synchronized swimming, now rewards stunts and punishes mistakes more, leading to unexpected outcomes. In the next Olympic Games in Paris 2024, while Russia and China are expected to be strong competitors, anything can happen in the duo and team events.
With talented athletes like Iris Tió leading the way, Spain has made a remarkable comeback in the world of artistic swimming. The dedication of the athletes, the guidance of the new coaching team, and the adaptability to the evolving regulations have all contributed to Spain’s revival as a force to be reckoned with in the sport.