China outcasted the United States at the artistic swimming gold at Paris Olympics, where the sport moved forward without Russia

By Edward Era Barbacena 

China captured its first-ever Olympic gold medal in the artistic swimming team event at the Paris Games on Wednesday.

The Chinese team entered the day with a commanding lead of almost 70 points after the technical routine and free routine. Their score of 283.6934 in the acrobatic routine was the highest of the day and gave them a three-day total of 996.1389.

Team USA captured the silver with a total score of 914.3421 to earn its first medal in this event since 2004. Spain medaled for the second time in the last three Olympics, finishing third with a combined score of 900.7319.

Artistic Swimming Team Event Final Results (Total Points)

Gold: China (996.1389)

Silver: United States (914.3421)

Bronze: Spain (900.7319)

4. France (886.6487)

5. Japan (880.6841)

6. Canada (859.2229)

7. Mexico (853.7932)

8. Italy (845.9670)

9. Australia (728.4358)

10. Egypt (705.9814)

China dominated all three disciplines, starting with the technical competition on Sunday.

The closest race was in the acrobatic routine on Wednesday when the U.S. finished just under 12.4 points behind the Chinese team for the best score (283.6934 to 271.3166).

The acrobatic routine is known for spotlighting a team's power, endurance and energy. Teams are required to perform for three minutes, with a five-second margin of error either way to avoid a penalty.

Team USA closed the event with two stellar days after a fourth-place finish in the technical routine. The Americans posted the second-highest score in the free and acrobatic routines.

Spain was able to ride a strong start to get its second medal in this event in the past three Olympics. It scored 287.1475 in the technical routine to sit in second place behind China. That was followed up with fourth-place finishes in the free and acrobatic routines.

Japan had a difficult time after a strong score of 284.9017 in the technical routine. The team finished outside the top five in the final two disciplines to slide all the way down to fifth, with France climbing up to fourth thanks to a score of 268.8001 on Wednesday.