The moment Spain had been waiting for

Iris Tió secured Spain’s first gold medal at the 2026 European Championships in Paris after winning the artistic swimming technical solo final with a performance that combined precision, elegance, and outstanding artistic expression.

The Spaniard finished the competition with 263.6250 points, a score that allowed her to edge Belarusian Vasilina Khandoshka, who earned 263.3817 points.

Only 0.2433 points separated the top two finishers, making the battle for the continental title one of the closest finals of the championships.

The performance that made the difference

The new European champion presented a routine inspired by “Mio Cristo piange diamanti,” featuring music by Rosalía, and delivered an elegant and expressive performance.

Although her routine had almost four fewer difficulty points than Khandoshka’s and more than three fewer than Bleyer’s, the Spaniard received 114.200 points for artistic impression, a score that ultimately proved decisive.

The technical final also created a more balanced competition because five of the six routine elements were mandatory for all participants. The hybrid was the only element in which the swimmers could significantly increase the difficulty of their routines.

A gamble that finally pays off

Before this final, Tió had already won two silver medals and one bronze in Paris. She finished second in both the women’s free duet and the mixed free duet, while also placing third in the free solo.

Her victory in the technical routine brought that wait to an end and allowed the Spanish national anthem to be played for the first time during this edition of the continental championships.

Spain adds to its medal haul in Paris

With Tió’s title, Spain’s artistic swimming team reached six medals at the European Championships in Paris.

The performance also confirms the outstanding form of an athlete who arrived at the tournament as one of the discipline’s leading international figures. Tió was named the best European female artistic swimmer of 2025 after a season in which she achieved, among other results, her first individual world title.

In a final decided by the smallest details, the Spaniard remained committed to artistic expression and transformed the elegance of her routine into Spain’s first gold medal in Paris.