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Russian synchro swimmers confirm in Europe their global leaders’ status — sports minister

The Russian national team is currently in the top of the 2018 European Championships’ overall medals standings with 20 gold, 12 silver and 10 bronze

© Vladimir Gerdo/TASS

MOSCOW, August 7. /TASS/. The Russian national team of synchronized swimmers has once again proved at the 2018 European Championships the status of leaders on the global arena, Russian Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov told TASS on Tuesday.

The competitions of the European Championships in synchronized swimming were completed on Tuesday with the solo free routine, which saw Russia’s Svetlana Kolesnichenko winning the concluding event.

Read also

Russian swimmers win gold, silver in 100m men’s backstroke at 2018 European Championships

In all, Russia’s 24-year-old Kolesnichenko won four gold medals at the 2018 European Championships in synchronized swimming - in duet technical, solo technical, duet free and solo free routines.

"I am sincerely happy for the Russian national synchronized swimming team, which has once again proved to be the leader on the global arena," Kolobkov said in an interview with TASS.

The solo free routine crowned the competitions in synchronized swimming at the European championship seeing athletes from the Russian national team winning eight out of nine gold medals in various routines. Russia did not participate in the combination free routine, which was won by the national team of Ukraine.

"Our athletes won all of the eight routines they participated in," the Russian sports minister said. "I congratulate the team with all my heart with the outstanding victory at the European Championships."

"I am particularly grateful to the coaching staff led by Head Coach Tatiana Pokrovskaya," Kolobkov continued. "They [the coaching staff] exert maximum efforts to make sure that our team maintains the status of the strongest one, and its results pose an example for all synchro swimmers around the globe."

The 2018 European Championship is the first multi-sport event uniting different European championships and is held between August 2 and 12 in Scotland’s Glasgow and Edinburgh as well as in Germany’s Berlin.

The European multi-event championship include competitions in such sports as swimming, open water swimming, synchronized swimming, track cycling, road cycling, mountain biking, BMX, rowing and triathlon, artistic gymnastics, athletics, diving, golf.

The Russian national team is currently in the top of the 2018 European Championships’ overall medals standings with 20 gold, 12 silver and 10 bronze (42 in total). Athletes from Great Britain are in the second place with 33 medals (12 gold, 10 silver and 11 bronze) and the Italian team concludes the top-three with 36 medals (8 gold, 11 silver and 17 bronze).

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