Japanese siblings Tomoka Sato and Yotaro Sato won the mixed duet technical silver medal in artistic swimming at the world championships on Monday, the best result in the routine for the country.
The pair scored 86.5939 points and bettered Japan's previous best finish, the bronze in 2019, in Budapest. Italy's Giorgio Minisini and Lucrezia Ruggiero won on 89.2685, with China's Shi Haoyu and Zhang Yiyao third on 86.4425.
Making their worlds debut, the Japanese pair excelled with their powerful leg movements at the outdoor pool and drew a huge cheer from the crowd watching on under the blazing sun.
"I was nervous before the performance but I could enjoy it," said 20-year-old elder sister Tomoka. "It's such a precious medal, I fall short of words to express it. I want to show it to my parents as quickly as I can."
Yotaro, standing 180 centimeters, has been working on his precision and it paid off.
"We believed in what we've been doing," said the 17-year-old. "It's a medal which arrived after we gave all we have and feels great."
