ROME 2022, THE SPECTACLE OF ARTISTIC SWIMMING KICKS OFF AT THE PIETRANGELI

There is great anticipation for tomorrow afternoon. At 15:00, two hours before the official opening ceremony of Roma 2022, the first final of artistic swimming will kick off with the women's team technical routine that will award the first three medals, with Ukraine and Italy the big favourites on the eve.

It will be five days of intense competitions and the spectacle that will be staged in the pool set up for the occasion in the Nicola Pietrangeli Tennis Stadium (the great Italian tennis player who won Roland Garros in 1959 and 1960) will be truly exciting. This time there will be 12 titles at stake, as Roma 2022 will see the first ever edition of men's solo event.

The absence of Russia, the dominant nation in recent events, certainly changes the balance of power on the field giving Ukraine the favourites to win the most medals, closely followed by Italy and Greece.

At the European Championships in Budapest in 2021, Ukraine finished second in the medal table (behind Russia), with 4 golds and 4 silvers, with one name leaving its mark. We are talking about Marta Fiedina, who was the most awarded athlete of the last edition. Fiedina also finished the world championships with 5 medals around her neck (2 golds and 3 silvers), as did twins Marina and Vasalina Aleksiiva, big favourites in the duet.

The Italian team is also highly awaited by the home crowd, after the convincing World Championships held in June, where they won 5 medals: 2 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze. All eyes will obviously be on the mixed duet of Giorgio Minisini and Lucrezia Ruggiero, who brought Italy 2 extraordinary golds in the mixed duet technical routine and the mixed duet free routine and on the entire team of synchronettes, who could give great satisfaction to Italian fans.

Greece, on the other hand, are led by Evangelia Platanioti, who won the bronze medal in the solo competitions in Budapest in June. Spain have a reduced delegation (3 athletes): it will not participate in the women's events, but could be very competitive in the men's solo and mixed duet with the Catalan pair Pau Ribes and Emma Garcia.

On Monday 15 August, Italy's national holiday, the artistic swimming competition will come to an end with a spectacular gala.


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