World Aquatics Names Iris Tio Casas, Aleksandr Maltsev Artistic Swimmers of the Year

World Aquatics Names Iris Tio Casas, Aleksandr Maltsev Artistic Swimmers of the Year

World Aquatics this week has topped its Artistic Swimmers of the Year, naming Spain’s Iris Tio Casas and Aleksandr Maltsev.

Tio Casas assembled one of many all-time nice championship meets at this summer time’s World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, as the primary athlete in historical past to win medals in all 4 disciplines. She gained three gold medals and 6 in whole, with gold within the solo free routine, bronze within the solo technical routine, gold within the duet free routine (with Lilou Lluis) and gold within the blended duet free routine (with Dennis Gonzalez).

Tio Casas was additionally a part of the Spanish groups that gained bronze medals within the free routine and technical routine.

Tio Casas, a 23-year-old from Barcelona, made her first World Championships in 2023. She has gained 4 gold and 12 whole medals in three editions of Worlds.

“The world championships (in Spain) has more visibility, more people watching,” she stated. “It’s pressure, but we wanted to do our best and we’re very happy it happened this way. Probably a lot of people in Spain will see this and we can be an example for little kids.”

Tio Casas additionally loved success within the World Cup circuit in 2025, with 9 gold medals and 15 whole items of {hardware} at stops in France, Canada and Egypt. At the World Cup Super Final in China, Tio Casas gained silver within the girls’s solo technical and was fourth within the girls’s solo free.

Maltsev, a 30-year-old from St. Petersburg, returned to the World Championships for the primary time since 2019 due to the worldwide ban on Russians competing after its invasion of Ukraine. Competing as a impartial athlete, Maltsev gained three gold and 4 whole medals, together with a sweep of titles within the solo technical and solo free occasions. He teamed with Mayya Gurbanberdieva to win gold within the blended duet technical routine and with Olesia Platonova for silver within the blended duet free routine.

The 4 medals takes his profession tally to 10 profession Worlds medals, with seven gold and three silver.