Iris Tio Casas makes history for Spain with artistic swimming solo free gold at World C'ships
Iris Tio Casas won Spain's first women's solo title at the world championships with her victory in the solo free event on July 22.
SINGAPORE – This time in 2024, Iris Tio Casas was moved to tears as she watched Celine Dion perform Hymne A L'Amour during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on television.
On July 22, the Spanish artistic swimmer was again stirred by the same melody at the World Aquatics Championships (WCH).
Accompanied by the haunting Edith Piaf tune, Tio put on a virtuoso display in the women's solo free event at the WCH Arena, before shedding tears of joy when her triumph was confirmed.
The 22-year-old scored 245.1913 points to come from behind to beat top qualifier China's Xu Huiyan (241.0025) for the gold. Belarusian Vasilina Khandoshka (239.5437), who was designated as a neutral athlete, rounded off the podium.
And for the first time, Tio, who had earned bronze medals in the solo technical and team free events, is a solo world champion.
'It means a lot because it's my first gold medal in solo at the world championships and also my first medal in solo free, so I'm super happy, I can't believe it right now,' said Tio, who added the title to the team bronze from the Paris Games and the team technical gold at the 2023 Fukuoka championships.
'I feel very emotional because my parents are in the stands, it's a dream come true.'
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Having qualified third, Tio upped the degree of difficulty for her routine from the preliminary round, a move that Xu did likewise.
She then had to endure a tense wait to find out if her effort was enough, with Khandoshka and Xu performing after her.
Spanish champion Iris Tio Casas (centre) with China's silver medallist Xu Huiyan (far left) and Belarusian Vasilina Khandoshka at the World Aquatics Championships Arena.
ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
Tio said: 'She (Xu) improved the difficulty and Khandoshka also had good difficulty, so I tried to improve, to put more between the preliminary and final, and it worked out.
'I was hoping that because I give my everything in the water that it would pay off and have a reward.'
Her victory also made history for Spain, as it was the country's first women's solo title at the world championships.
Tio again choked up when the Spanish national anthem was played during the victory ceremony, but the tears were wiped clean moments afterwards as her teammates embraced her and sang 'campeones, campeones, ole, ole, ole' in the mixed zone.
In a country where football reigns supreme, Spain's artistic swimmers are proving they can compete on the world stage as well.
Winning a solo world title had been a lifelong goal for Tio, a dream she said became possible thanks to the pioneers of the sport in Spain, including former world champions and Olympic medallists Gemma Mengual, Andrea Fuentes and Ona Carbonell.
Fuentes, who returned to Spain after guiding the United States to a historic team silver at the Paris Games, is leading her country's artistic swimming campaign at these world championships.
On the growth of the sport in Spain, Tio said: 'We have really good coaches. The federation is putting in a lot of effort to make artistic swimming important in Spain. We are improving a lot.
'We always have the strength that is artistic impression, which Andrea Fuentes has been promoting a lot for us. It's because of the work of the coaches and the federation that artistic swimming is growing in Spain.'
It was a day to remember for Tio, who returned to the podium later after helping Spain bag the bronze in the team technical event with 294.8575 points.
Defending champions China took gold (307.8001), while the Russians, competing as neutral athletes, clinched silver with 300.6183.
China's artistic swimmers took gold in the team technical event on July 22.
ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
China coach Zhang Xiaohuan described the day as a special one for the team, especially as they faced off against powerhouses Russia, who returned to the world meet as neutrals after missing out on the past three editions.
Russia had not competed in the world meet since 2022, due to sanctions on their athletes, along with those from Belarus, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The team also did not participate in the Paris Olympics.
Despite their absence from international competition in recent years, Zhang said their rivals remain a formidable force.
She said: 'They have a deep foundation in artistic swimming, and even with such a young line-up, with many born in 2007 or 2008, they're still able to perform at such a high level. They give us a lot to think about for the future. We only just barely edged ahead in this competition...
'For us, we must keep working diligently and humbly. We must always see ourselves as challengers, not champions. China doesn't yet have the over 20 years of dominance Russia has had, so we must keep improving.'
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