Russia reclaim European free combination title in London

World champions Russia reclaimed the Free Combination synchronised swimming title on day four of the London 2016 European Aquatics Championships.

While they have won Free Combo gold at the past three stagings of the World Championships, the Russians haven’t competed on the European stage since winning gold in Budapest six years ago.

But they had no problems sealing their sixth synchro gold medal of London 2016, scoring 96.5000 to finish ahead of Ukraine and Italy with Great Britain eighth.

While Duet stars Natalia Ishchenko and Sveltana Romashina were missing from the Russian team, they retained eight of their 10 from last year’s World Championships and performed the same ‘Don Quixote’ routine to devastating effect.

“We are satisfied with our performance,” said Russian swimmer Alla Shishkina. “It’s good to have more medals on offer, we enjoy the competition.

“This Team Combination required maximum effort from everyone, which is good for the sport. Also, it’s great that the Ukrainians improved again, they keep us under pressure and make us work harder all the time.”

Defending champions Ukraine were always going to be hard pressed to retain their title, but they gave it a creditable shot, scoring 93.4333.

Full of lifts and breathtaking acrobatics, the Ukranians’ routine – which saw them finish fourth at last year’s World Championships – captured the feeling of the circus, perfectly matched to a lively mix of operetta music from Emmerich Kálmán and Johann Strauss.

The result brought a fifth synchronised swimming silver medal for Ukraine, although they will hope to claim the elusive gold in tomorrow’s Team Free routine, having qualified in first for the final.

Italy edge past 90 point marker for bronze

Italy edged their way past the 90 point marker as they scooped bronze, having finished seventh on 89.7333 for their routine at last year’s World Championships.

The Italians, who will appear in the Olympic Team competition for the first time for 16 years this summer, are enjoying a European Championships to remember in London, and confirmed their status as the third best nation on the continent with a fifth bronze in four days.

While Great Britain maintained their placing from Berlin two years ago, the team improved their score to 77.9667 for their James Bond-themed routine.

Evoking memories of the iconic James Bond film opening credits, British team member Hannah Randall insisted it had been a positive performance of their new routine but was adamant there was room for improvement ahead of next year’s World Championships.

“It was a really good swim for us,” said Randall. “It was a new routine and we were really excited to go first.

“The crowd were amazing for us, especially being a home crowd and it felt really good.

“The opportunity to compete at these Europeans has been a great one and a great learning experience for all the girls. We can’t wait to get back to training and keep improving and our next big target will be Worlds next summer.”