The Alexandri sisters got 91.2622 points in the final and were only beaten by the Chinese Wang Liuyi/Wang Qianyi (93.7536) and the Ukrainians Maryna Aleksijwa/Wladyslawa Aleksijwa (91.8617). For the 24-year-old triplets – Vasiliki competed in the solo competition in Budapest – it was the third medal at major events after two bronze medals at the European Championships last year.
In the absence of the Russian Olympic champions, who had had a “gold subscription” at major events in previous decades and had been excluded from the World Championships due to the war of aggression in Ukraine, the Alexandri sisters set a new personal record of points in the final. They improved significantly compared to their rating of third place in the prelim (90.2869).
Alexandri sisters conquer World Championship bronze
The synchronized swimmers Anna-Maria and Eirini Alexandri won bronze in the technical freestyle at the World Championships in Budapest and thus reached the next milestone in their career. The Austrian duo were only beaten by China and Ukraine. For the 24-year-old triplets, it was the third medal at major events after two bronze medals at the European Championships last year.
“We love Budapest”
In any case, Budapest is perfect ground for the Alexandris, as they also won their two European Championship medals in the Hungarian capital. A dream has now come true with a World Cup medal. “We love Budapest. Hungary is our country. Last year bronze at the European Championships, now bronze at the World Championships. That was our goal. It’s incredible. It’s a pity that there are no Olympic Games in Budapest,” said Eirini. “We feel at home, the water is much lighter than in Austria,” added Anna-Maria.
“For the first time, we are in front of Japan and Italy, they are our eternal opponents. The relief is really huge. We were very nervous, especially before the competition. It was a lot more stress than usual because there was so much at stake. Everything was close, but we are very relieved now,” said Anna-Maria. Coach Albena Mladenowa was also visibly satisfied. “It was a long way. There’s so much work behind it,” she said. “They are so focused, have incredible stamina and discipline and are always ready to work. You have incredible motivation.”
Bronze for the Alexandri sisters
Anna-Maria and Eirini Alexandri sensationally conquered bronze in Budapest and thus the first Austrian world championship medal in synchronized swimming.
The next assignment is Tuesday’s preliminary round in the free competition. The duo hopes to be up there again. “We want the bronze medal there too. And over 92 points. We know it’s possible if it works like the technical part. Concentration, calm and implementing what we can do in training. We hope that we can keep the level. A medal is hard, but always performing is even harder,” said Eirini.
Regularly over 90 points
The sisters have made a name for themselves among the judges, and the duo now regularly exceeds the magic mark of 90 points. New dimensions of more than 92 points should soon be reached more frequently. The Alexandris believe that the better ratings are also a consequence of the CoV pandemic. There were no competitions for a long time, so the judges would look at the artistic swimmers with different eyes. “Everyone said we’re finally getting what we deserve,” said Eirini recently.
The Alexandri triplets have been in Austria for almost exactly ten years and were finally naturalized on June 3, 2014. The sporting future has at least one big highlight for the sisters: the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Together with trainer Mladenowa, further historic moments will be worked on in the near future.
