‘Special connection' sees Alexandri sisters clinch duet technical title at World Aquatics C'ships
Anna-Maria Alexandri (left) and Eirini-Marina Alexandri of Austria celebrate after winning the artistic swimming women's duet technical event at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships.
SINGAPORE – Like most siblings, Anna-Maria and Eirini-Marina Alexandri run into arguments, but they have found an unorthodox way to resolve them.
Whenever the Austrian artistic swimmers, who are part of a triplet with their sister Vasiliki, have any disagreements, all it takes is a shared glance and a laugh to move past it.
It is this unique bond that has helped them clinch their second world title on July 21, as they won the women's duet technical gold at the World Aquatics Championships (WCH).
At the WCH Arena, the pair scored 307.1451 points, finishing ahead of Chinese twins Lin Yanhan and Lin Yanjun (301.4057) and Russians Mayya Doroshko and Tatiana Gayday (300.2183), who are competing as neutrals.
With sisters taking up the top two spots on the podium, the 27-year-old Alexandris were asked if there is anything about being triplets or twins that helps with their pool performances.
Eirini-Marina said: 'We have a special connection because we know how we feel and I know how she feels, even if I just look at her, so I know what I have to tell her to calm her down...
'It's sometimes easier because the twins, triplets, sisters have the same body structure and the same way they express the music, the movement, and in artistic swimming we look for perfection.'
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Having topped the preliminary round three days earlier, the sisters were the final pair to take to the pool.
But they took little notice of their competitors' scores; all that mattered to Anna-Maria was that it would be their turn at 7.25pm.
They delivered a flawless routine to Japanese composer Koji Sakurai's version of the classical piece Swan Lake, securing their second world title, adding to the duet free gold they had won at the 2023 Fukuoka world championships.
Their synchronicity in the pool was mirrored outside it, as they showcased their deep understanding of each other at the media mixed zone, seamlessly completing each other's responses in interviews.
Eirini-Marina Alexandri (left) and Anna-Maria Alexandri of Austria performing their routine in the artistic swimming women's duet technical event at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
This victory comes after they were forced to withdraw from the 2024 Doha championships as Anna-Maria was still recovering from an injury suffered the year before.
Anna-Maria said: 'We are very happy to be back. I had a shoulder dislocation in the summer of 2023 and I had pain and it hadn't fully recovered for Doha, so we had to withdraw from the world championships because our big goal was the Paris Olympics.
'Now we are very happy because this was the highlight of the year and we finished with a gold medal.'
It has not been easy for the siblings since the Paris Olympics, where they were fourth in the duet.
At the end of 2024, their long-time coach Albena Mladenova, who had guided them for 12 years, retired.
For some time, they trained on their own, until they began working with Japanese coach Takako Nakajima four months ago – a partnership that has already yielded impressive results.
Before their win in Singapore, they bagged the duet technical title at the European Championships in June, while Vasiliki returned after an 11-month break to take bronze in the solo technical at the World Cup in Canada.
It was a familiar face atop the men's solo free podium on July 21, with Russian Aleksandr Maltsev, who is competing under neutral status, claiming his second gold after clinching the solo technical crown two days earlier.
Neutral athlete Aleksandr Maltsev bagged his second title at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships after winning the men's solo free on July 21, 2025.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Maltsev topped with 229.5613 points, with China's Guo Muye (220.1926) and Italy's Filippo Pelati (213.9850) clinching silver and bronze respectively.
While he had emerged triumphant at the venue a few days before, that win was no longer on the 30-year-old's mind.
The six-time world championship gold medallist explained: 'It was completely new because it's a new routine, it's another (set of) rules from the technical routine.
'I was excited to compete today and I'm very satisfied that I could show my best swim in this routine because I've been doing this routine for one month.
'We created this routine one month ago for the world championships... it was very difficult during the training sessions because I did four routines – mixed duets and two solos – and this routine is one of the most difficult of our routines.'
Earlier in the day, defending champions China topped the preliminary rounds of the team technical event with 306.2460 points, followed by neutral athletes from Russia (295.4633) and Spain (288.4091).
Singapore missed out on the final after finishing 23rd with 200.6333 points.
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