Team China win 3 golds on day 2 of Artistic Swimming World Cup

Chinese artistic swimmers captured three gold medals on Saturday to remain atop the tally with a total of six golds and one silver during the first leg of the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup in Beijing.

Eighteen-year-old Xu Huiyan achieved a three-peat, winning the women's solo free title on day 2 of the tournament following her victories in the solo technical and team technical a day before. She topped the podium with 33.5188 points clear of Isabel Cui of Spain, followed by Marloes Steenbeek of the Netherlands.

"The three gold medals really inspire me to forge ahead. I keep improving myself through world-level events this year. For the women's duet free event tomorrow, I will try my best to concentrate on the rhythm and cooperate with my partner," said Xu.

"I started practicing artistic swimming since the age of eight, from about three hours a week at the beginning to three hours a day gradually. I was excited to show myself in the Olympic venue, the Water Cube. My relatives in China also came to cheer for me," said Cui, who was born in Spain to Chinese parents.

China then beat Australia to win gold in the team free event with 343.3479 points.

"Our team performed great today. As an experienced athlete, I also encouraged our young swimmers to train hard and get prepared for the following events," said Wang Liuyi, a member of the squad. "The World Cup is an important step towards the Paris Olympics."

Chinese pair Lin Yanhan and Lin Yanjun triumphed in the women's duet technical, with Spain and Slovakia duos rounding off the podium.

"This is their first time to compete in such high-level events. We have achieved our goals for the World Cup. I believe they can do better technically and continue to make progress in the future," said Li Min, a member of China's coaching team.

In another event on Saturday, Filippo Pelati of Italy won the men's solo free, while Spain's Jordi Caceres Iglesias and Viktor Druzin of Kazakhstan finished behind.

Earlier on Friday, the Chinese team won three golds in the women's solo, team technical and mixed duet technical. Meanwhile, 15-year-old Guo Muye took home the silver in the men's solo technical.

The women's duet free, mixed duet free and team acrobatic take place on Sunday, the final day of the Beijing leg. The series travels to France's Paris and Canada's Markham in May before the Super Final wraps up in Budapest, Hungary in early July.