ROC wins team gold in artistic swimming at Tokyo Olympics

Team ROC compete during the artistic swimming team free routine match at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, Aug. 7, 2021. (Xinhua/Chen Jianli)

TOKYO, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Svetlana Romashina and Svetlana Kolesnichenko led ROC to the gold in artistic swimming team event after scoring 98.8000 points in free routine and total scores at 196.0979 here on Saturday.

The ROC team scored 97.2979 in technical routine, followed by China in 96.2310.

Romashina, 31, now has seven Olympic gold medals to her name, having won team gold at Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016. She also won duet gold in London, Rio and Tokyo.

Romashina acknowledged that it was very difficult to be a mother and athlete at one moment.

"I can't say that they're different, but I can say that the sixth and the seventh medal were the most difficult ones in my life," said Romashina on what her seventh Olympic gold medal means.

China took the silver in 193.5310 points, thus China picked up a medal in the team event for the fourth successive Olympic Games, after bronze in 2008 and silver in 2012 and 2016.

China's Huang Xuechen has won seven Olympic medals in artistic swimming in four Olympics.

"The most happiest thing is that we stay together for such a long time. They show me great tolerance and understanding, I am grateful to them," said Huang.

The bronze went to Ukraine with 190.3018, and they won the duet bronze too. Japan ranked fourth like the duet event with 188.3106.