Anita Alvarez and Mariya Koroleva won the gold medal in the women's duet free at the 2016 China Open on April 15, 2016 in Wuhan, China.
The U.S. synchronized swimming duet of Anita Alvarez and Mariya Koroleva found itself on the podium once again Friday, and this time it was on the top step.
Alvarez and Koroleva won gold at the China Open in the duet free competition.
The U.S. women won the event with a score of 86.76. The Brazilian team scored 85.70 to earn silver, while Malaysia took bronze (77.06). Team USA also won a silver medal Thursday in the duet tech. Alvarez and Koroleva have now raked in four international medals this year, including bronze medals at the German Open and French Open.
The two first paired up in 2015 and this marked their first gold medal together.
"We've learned a lot from this competition," Koroleva, a 2012 Olympian, told USA Synchro. "We have added difficulty to both of our programs, so it was good to test out those changes on the international stage."
The international success is a good sign for the duo, which will represent the U.S. at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Alvarez and Koroleva qualified for the Olympic Games in early March by finishing seventh at the Rio 2016 qualifying event.
