Natalia Ishchenko Secures Synchronized Swimming Free Solo Gold At 2016 European Aquatic Championships

natalia-ishchenko-fina-world-championships-2015

Photo Courtesy: R-Sport / MIA Rossiya Segodnya

Top scores in the sycnrhonized swimming Free Solo highlighted day two of the 2016 LEN European Aquatic Championships. In addition to the Free Solo final, finals of the men’s 1-meter springboard and women’s 10-meter synchro occurred.

Synchronized Swimming

Natalia Ishchenko, triple Olympic gold medalist and the World Champion in Kazan, grabbed her first win of the meet with a dynamic performance in the sycnrhonized swimming Free Solo. Ishchenko was the overwhelming favorite entering the meet and did not disappoint finishing first with an astounding 96.4000 points. Today’s gold fittingly marks her 10th European gold medal one decade after claiming her first set of gold medals at the 2006 Championships in Budapest.

Anna Voloshyna of Ukraine bettered upon last year’s fourth place finish at the World Championships with a second place finish of 93.4000. Italy’s Linda Cerruti (89.4333) edged out Spain’s Cristina Salvador (89.2333) for the bronze medal by a slim .2 points.

Men’s 1-Meter Springboard

Illya Kvasha of Ukraine delivered another top performance in the men’s 1-meter springboard earning his sixth European title ever. Between the years of 2008 and 2013 Kvasha won five European titles for the 1-meter. The 28-year-old secured the title with a final score of 439.70, leading the second-place finisher by almost forty points.

Despite displaying a strong final dive Giovanni Tocci of Italy finished second overall with a final score of 414.30, earning him his first European silver medal. Wrapping up the podium was Austria’s Constantin Blaha with 402.55 points. Blaha’s medal makes him the first Austrian male diver to make the podium since 1987.

Women’s 10-Meter Synchro

A missed final dive from the British pair of Lois Toulson and Tonia Couch resulted in the pair slipping from first to fifth leaving the field open for Germany’s Maria Kurjo and My Phan to claim first. The German pair upgraded from their 2014 silver medal finish to gold with a final score of 279.75.

Grabbing second was Ukraine’s Ganna Krasnoshlyk and Vlada Tatsenko with a close score of 278.01.

The Hungary duo of Villo Kormos and Zsofia Reisinger finished third with a 274.74 for the third consecutive European Championships.

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