Aquaoaks’ Mariella Rice and Stanley Stiff ‘really proud’ with Mixed Duet gold

Aquaoaks’ Mariella Rice and Stanley Stiff emerged victorious in the Youth Mixed Duet event on day two of the GoCardless Swim England Artistic Swimming National Age Group Championships 2024.

Scoring 57.5500 with their New York themed routine, the duet were ‘really proud’ to take the title with a combined score of 114.1636.

Speaking after the event Stiff said: “It feels good. We were really proud of ourselves because there were lots of bits that we struggled with at previous competitions which we’ve now improved on.

“We’ve been doing a lot of drilling in training and before our routines we’ve been swimming a lot of lengths to help build on our stamina. It’s made us pretty tired now but it’s been worth it.

“Our next big aim is to win at the Combo Cup.”

Second place went to City of Leeds with a combined score of 106.8349. Their team consisted of Iris Thompson and Salvador Ingham, with Anna James as reserve. They performed a routine to a hip-hop mashup that scored 55.3500, which put them over two and a half points clear of the bronze medal when added to their figure average.

Walsall Artistic Swimming Club took the bronze medal, represented by Kali-Mae Fletcher and Mylo Lunn. Swimming to Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’, they scored 53.1500 for their routine, finishing on a total of 104.2258.

A commerative gold medal was awarded to Noah van Beest and Lauren van der Broek for their routine, which scored 164.5684 overall.

Aaron Lee and Keva Ennis retained their 12 & Under Mixed Duet title for the third time, after previously winning the title in 2022 and 2023. Their routine to ‘My Sweet Shadow’ scored 54.2000, combining with their figure average to score 112.9535 in total, placing them eight points clear of second place.

The silver medal went to City of Birmingham’s Charlotte Lenart and Sebastian Reeve with a total score of 94.9331. Reeve, who will be nine this year, is the youngest competitor in this year’s championships.

Excellent Eliasson wins her second gold

Andrea Eliasson claimed her second gold in as many days, taking the Youth free solo title in the last swim of the event.

After finishing just 0.5 off the top spot in yesterday’s figures, the London Regional Synchronised Swimming Club athlete swam a near faultless routine with just two base marks to score 129.0667 in the routine and a combined total of 201.4910.

This adds to a successful opening day for London Regional, after they secured a one-two in the Youth Free Duets yesterday afternoon, as well as a silver and bronze in the Youth Figures event.

Youth Figure champion Lena Ramanah-Beck had to settle for the silver medal with a score of 190.8353. The Salford swimmer performed a powerful routine to the soundtrack of the Hunger Games, but incurred three base marks, bringing the routine total to 117.8958.

The bronze medal went to City of Birmingham’s Imogen Sutton, who swam to ‘As It Was’ by Harry Styles. Her routine, which showed particularly impressive barracuda height, scored 89.6292 to finish on 158.9019 overall.

Sharashkina on top once again

Victoria Sharashkina became a double back-to-back champion swimming her solo routine inspired by Swan Lake. The Aquavision swimmer scored 77.3938, which combined with her figure score from yesterday was enough to take the title once again. Her final total of 147.5719 meant she finished nearly eight points clear of second place.

Aquavision North London now go into the 12 & Under Free Team competition as the ones to watch, as they aim to achieve a clean sweep of the age group.

The silver medal was awarded to Rugby’s Keva Ennis, with a total score of 139.7960. Her routine score – 77.9375 – was the highest of the event, with only one base mark. The routine, which was to the soundtrack of Tangled, showed great travel across the pool and extension.

The bronze medal once again went to City of Birmingham and the Sutton family, as Teal Sutton finished on a total score of 129.9132. Sutton, who also gained a bronze in the 12 & Under figures event yesterday, swam to the Hercules soundtrack, and received just two base marks.

You can keep up with the live scores from the GoCardless Swim England Artistic Swimming National Age Group Championships here.

Images: Will Johnston Photography

Article written by Jess Arnold.