KAZAN, Russia (AP) – Christina Jones and Bill May, a couple of old pros in the pool making a comeback while juggling Las Vegas show careers, won a gold medal in new mixed duet technical synchronized swimming at the world championships Sunday night.
The Americans totaled 88.5108 points to beat the Russians by 0.2122 points in their home pool with a 2 ½-minute routine that included scissor kicks and spins at Kazan Arena.
Aleksandr Maltsev and Darina Valitova of the host nation, who led by just over two points after the preliminaries, settled for silver with 88.2986 points. Maltsev, the only man participating in synchro in Russia, didn’t like the results.
“We were underscored, and all others were clearly overscored,” he said. “That’s bitter, we are upset.”
Italians Manila Flamini and Giorgio Minisini earned bronze with 86.3640 in a sport that has been traditionally dominated by women.