Team Canada delivered a breakthrough performance at the fourth leg of the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup in Pontevedra, highlighted by a gold medal in the Acrobatic Team event and a bronze medal in Team Free, capping off a weekend of momentum-building results across all disciplines.
Following a three-month training block since the previous World Cup in Colombia in February, the Canadian team arrived in Spain with upgraded routines, increased difficulty, and renewed confidence. The additional preparation time allowed athletes to recover, refine execution and debut new choreography against a deep international field in front of an enthusiastic Spanish crowd.
Golden finish in Acrobatic Team
Canada saved its best for last in Pontevedra, capturing gold in the Acrobatic Team event with a commanding score of 217.2892. The high-risk, high-reward routine combined explosive lifts, precision timing, and dynamic choreography, that earned Canada the second-best score in the event in international competition this season.
The Canadian team outscored Spain, who were debuting a spectacular new routine of their own in front of the sold-out crowd and delivered a masterful performance that just fell short as they missed their last acrobatic move.
In the role of flyer in the routine, Team Canada’s Andrea Escobar spoke about the team’s preparation and the excitement of performing their high-flying routine. “We do a lot of training in and out of the water, practising our moves and visualizations and we just tried to bring our best today.”
Bronze breakthrough in Team Free
Earlier in the weekend, Canada earned bronze in Team Free with their new routine Cosmic Visitors, marking an important milestone for the group as they competed in all three team events for the first time under Lead Coach Karine Doré. The routine impressed judges and fans alike with its intricate choreography and energetic interpretation.
“Today went really well for us. We absolutely love this routine and were so excited to finally perform it in competition. We weren’t necessarily chasing a medal, but our goal was to deliver a clean swim and avoid deductions, and we accomplished that. I see tremendous potential for this team moving forward,” said Laurianne Imbeau in an interview with Sportcom.
The result followed a narrow 4th place finish in Team Technical, in a competition that saw Canada receive the full value of its declared difficult in all its team events.
Continued strength in solo events
Canada opened the weekend as Audrey Lamothe narrowly missed the podium with a 4th place finish in Solo Free, while Lamothe and Olena Verbinska placed 6th and 9th respectively in Solo Technical among a field of 30 athletes.
“We had three months after Colombia to prepare for this next World Cup. Our goal was to raise the degree of difficulty while also improving execution and artistic impression. We wanted to add more complex movements without sacrificing height or extension, and I think we achieved that really successfully,” shared Lamothe in an interview with Sportcom.
Promising debuts for new duets and new routines
Canada also made major strides in duet competition. Lily Bernier and Charlie Breault improved their Technical Duet score from the Colombian World Cup by more than 20 points, earning a score of 253.4334.
Ximena Ortiz Montana and Olena Verbinska, who last swam as a pair at the Junior World Championships in Lima in 2024, finished 7th out of 28 pairs in Technical Duet with a score of 261.9559.
In Duet Free, Canada debuted a brand-new routine entitled Restless Sleep, earning strong reviews and a 5th place finish for Ortiz and Verbinska with a well-received senior international debut and a score of 256.0571, while Lily Bernier and Andrea Escobar took 22nd place.
Next stop, Toronto June 19-21 for Super Final
Canadian fans can cheer on Team Canada at home as Canada Artistic Swimming hosts the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup Super Final at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario from June 19–21, 2026. Tickets are on sale now at tickets.tpasc.ca.