Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
China opened the artistic swimming events in Xi’an (1–3 May) by winning three of four competitions and finishing second in the other, according to World Aquatics. Their eight-member Team Technical lineup included five athletes who had each previously claimed three World Championships gold medals in Singapore 2025, with Xiang Binxuan as the only veteran from the Paris 2024 team. Notably, for the first time in a major event, the team included a male athlete: 17-year-old World solo silver medallist Guo Muye.
China earned an overall score of 304.3592 points in the Team Technical final, surpassing a strong Russian team, which took second place with 297.0816 points. Xiang Binxuan described the performance as highly anticipated and dedicated, featuring a mix of junior and senior athletes under their coach's guidance. Russia's Elizaveta Smirnova expressed satisfaction with their second-place finish and congratulated the Chinese team. Japan rounded out the top three with a score of 280.9966 points, narrowly ahead of Italy.
In the Women’s Duet Technical Final, 23 duos competed, with China’s Xu Huiyan and Lin Yanjun claiming the title. The pair, who had previously won gold at the World Cup Super Final, performed a routine themed ‘Warriors of Moon Shadow,’ earning 308.2983 points. Despite strong competition from Russia’s Kira Cherezova and Valentina Gerasimova, who scored 296.9358 points, the Chinese duo prevailed. Lin Yanjun noted satisfaction with their technical execution and plans to improve synchronization in future events.