He regulation change It has imploded in world artistic swimming, which has changed its scenery and has become an unpredictable sport, as was demonstrated yesterday and has been verified throughout this week already in Fukuoka. The Spanish duo, formed by Iris Tió and Alisa Ozhoginawho had won bronze in the technical routine and reached the final of the free routine with medal options, committed three errors in the elements and finished… elevenths with 175.7437. The gold went to Austria with 255.4583, a country that had been desperate to fall off the podiums to date in these Swimming World Cups.
The Argentine judge and controller Gabriela Viglinoan eminence who has many World Cups behind him, attended AS from Fukuoka to shed light on this new dynamic: “Synchro is now fair, all subjectivity has been removed. Before it was said that there were judges who had their preferences, now it is impossible for that to happen”, assessed the judge, who compliments Spain: “It is a great team, they are fantastic, Mayu has done a great job and they have adapted very well to the new regulation, like other countries”.
Viglino details that the new regulation determines the grades in two phases. The first one is the judges opinion on execution and artistic impressionbut then the controllers, which go through the video, take care of check that the ‘coach card’ (the detailed summary of the choreography) delivered by the selectors is fulfilled. Each element has an assigned difficulty: if they see an error, that figure is only multiplied by 0.5, which is called the ‘base mark’. “The teams have to adapt to it. It is only the beginning, this moment may be one of transition, there may be nuances, but there will be no going back.” For the judge, the role of the swimmers and the coach is totally decisive because everything becomes “objective”.
The Argentine judge gives an example that explains the uncertainty of the competitions: “It’s like shooting a triple. You can train him a thousand times, but everything will depend on whether or not game day comes. It is similar, you can make a mistake and fall off the podium”. That happened to the Spanish duo yesterday, who he made up to three errors according to the drivers. “Now everything happens, it’s exciting,” he said.
This uncertainty creates a “different” sport, as has been verified in these World Cups, where different teams up to now have been far from the podium, how Colombia and the United States of Andrea Fuentes, medals have been hung. Spain has been favored by the excellent interpretation of Mayu Fujikiadvised by Ana Montero, technical director and in the World Aquatics Commission, which has helped to generate the new regulation and give men more prominence by including them in the Olympic team routine.
The good news of the day was the second position of the free team in the preliminary (294.9313), only behind the China of Anna Tarrés (323.2731). A year ago the podium would be clear. Now everything is up in the air. Apart from this test, Spain has the free mixed duo leftwhere Spain has more options of get his seventh medal, an absolute record in a World Cup.