Japan claims historic gold in artistic swimming
12:24, 17 July 2023
FUKUOKA. KAZINFORM - Mashiro Yasunaga and Moe Higa won the gold medal in artistic swimming's duet technical routine at the world aquatics championships Sunday, making them the first Japanese pair to win a world title in 22 years, Kyodo reports.
Yasunaga, 24, and Higa, 15, scored 273.9500 points, 10.9166 ahead of second-place Italians Linda Cerruti and Lucrezia Ruggiero, in the final at Marine Messe Fukuoka.
The Japanese pair staged a dramatic rebound after barely reaching the final with a 12th-place showing in Friday's preliminary round.
«Half surprised, half happy,» Yasunaga said. «We got lucky as well. We'd like to have this result lead to the Olympics.»
Spain's Alisa Ozhogina Ozhogin and Iris Tio Casas took bronze, 16.1132 behind the gold medalists.
At the 2001 world championships, also held in the southwestern Japan city of Fukuoka, Miya Tachibana and Miho Takeda won gold.