Iris Tió's love for Singapore gold

BarcelonaHeartbreak is a concept often associated with negativity, but in Singapore it served as a catalyst for Iris Tió to continue making history at the World Swimming Championships. The Barcelona native added her third gold medal, tying the Spanish delegation with China for the most gold medals won: four. The latest medal came this Friday, along with that of Rubi swimmer Dennis González. The Catalan pair climbed to the top step of the podium in the mixed duet free routine (323.8563 points) after beating Russia, which competes under a neutral flag, (323.4438 points) and the United Kingdom (322.0583 points). China, the reigning champion in this event after beating Dennis González and Mireia Hernández last year in Doha, had to settle for sixth place.

At the pace of Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You, a 1969 song by Led Zeppelin, the Catalan pair performed a seven-element routine dealing with the theme of heartbreak. Their artistic impression, which received five out of 10 marks, was key to Tió and González, aged 22 and 21 respectively, taking gold. Despite being surpassed by the other two pairs on the podium in terms of difficulty and execution, the Spanish team beat the Russian team, made up of Aleksandr Maltsev and Olesia Platonova, by four-tenths (0.4125).

The exercise had already paid off for the Catalan couple, as they won gold a month ago in the World Cup Super Final in China. "I can't believe it. Also, knowing how much work we've put in," confessed Dennis González, who praised Iris Tió and choreographer Andrea Fuentes. His duet partner also highlighted the connection between them. "Her energy gives me a lot of feedback; she gives her all when she's in the water," said Tió.

Tió continues to make history in Singapore.

The arrival of Andrea Fuentes as national team coach has provided an extra boost to compete head-to-head against world artistic swimming powers like China and Russia. Iris Tió, one of the tournament's biggest sensations, has now reached the top step of the podium three times. The Barcelona native began her adventure in Singapore by winning the first gold medal for the Spanish delegation in the freestyle singles category. Later she expanded her list of achievements with the free routine of the female duo with the Perpignan, Lilou LluísWith this medal, Tió now has six (three golds and three bronzes).

Dennis González, for his part, returns to the podium after doing so last Sunday in the team freestyle event, which allowed him to become the first male swimmer to win a medal in a world artistic swimming team event. With his victory in the mixed duet, the swimmer from Rubí has now won five (one gold, two silvers, and two bronzes). On a Friday, the Spanish delegation won another medal with a bronze in the team acrobatics final, and now has nine in the artistic swimming event. Ninety percent of these medals have come from Catalan athletes (among them, Iris Tió, Dennis González, Lilou Lluís, and Mireia Hernández). Adding water polo to the list, this brings the total to eleven in Singapore (four golds, two silvers, and five bronzes) for a Spanish delegation that already surpasses the number achieved last year in Doha (10).

Second stage of the world championship

With the acrobatics final, artistic swimming bids farewell to the 2025 World Championships. Water polo also bids farewell, with a gold for the men's team and a bronze for the women's, and the open water swimming category (with no Spanish medals). Thus, this final week of the championship, which will run until August 3, will focus on swimming, diving, and high diving.