China's twin sisters sweep duet title in artistic swimming at Asian Games

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Jiang Wenwen and Jiang Tingting wrote their names into the Asian Games record books after winning the duet in artistic swimming on Tuesday.

The Jiang twins, 32, are the oldest artistic swimmers in Asian Games history. They won five gold medals between the 2006 and 2010 Asian Games, including two duet titles. They returned to the pool last year after the pair both had children and took a two-year break from competition.

With the theme of "Flamingo and Swan," the Jiangs dominated the technical and free routine with a total of 186.5101 points and wrapped up their sixth Asian Games gold medal.

Inui Yukiko/Youshida Megumu of Japan finished second with a score of 182.3363 and the Kazakhstani pair of Nemich Yekaterina/Nemich Alexandra came third with a score of 170.8845.

The Jiang twins debut at the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, on August 28. /VCG Photo

"We are satisfied that we showed our best during the competition, we improved on the difficulties of the routines. We did a great job! We are our own biggest competitors," Jiang Wenwen said.

"We are honored and lucky to work with a great team, including our experienced coaches, friendly teammates and family members, especially our daughters," Jiang Tingting said.

The Jiang sisters returned to the pool in 2016 ahead of the 2017 National Games, where they won in the duet section. They also competed at the FINA World Championships in Budapest and won two silver medals.

The Jiang twins compete in the duet technical routine at the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, on August 28. /VCG Photo

"Since we returned to the pool, we kept training everyday and improved on our conditioning so we could be stronger than ever. We did this so we could deal with more difficult routines," Wenwen said.

China has won all eight gold medals at the Asian Games since the sport debuted at the Games in 2006.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency