Abarca Shares Team USA leaves Paris with "Heads Held High"

The USA Artistic Senior Swimming National Team continued its 2026 international campaign at the World Aquatics World Cup Stop #2 in Paris, France, demonstrating measurable progress, resilience, and standout artistic performances across multiple events.

Three-time Olympian Anita Alvarez delivered a strong performance in the Technical Solo event, placing fifth while improving her score from the previous World Cup stop in Medellín. Swimming to “Looking for America” by Lana Del Rey, Alvarez increased her degree of difficulty and continued refining her execution.

Head Coach Megan Abarca emphasized the progress in Alvarez’s return to the event:
“After getting back into the technical solo for the first time in four years, we knew that we could make some big improvements on both the content of the routine and the execution… Looking at her artistic impression scores, she was third in an extremely competitive field, and it was clear that this is an area where she really shines.”

Alvarez added:
“In Colombia it was really about just getting back out there… This time I was able to add a little bit more to my performance and feel more solid in my tech elements. Right now it is all about getting reps in.”

The United States fielded two duets in the Technical Duet event. The experienced pairing of Alvarez and Jaime Czarkowski finished fourth overall, earning first place in artistic impression and narrowly missing the podium. As a new duo, they continue to show strong growth and potential.

The developing duo of Ghizal Akbar and Kanako Field placed 16th after receiving a zero on an element—an isolated mistake that does not reflect the complexity and promise of their routine.

“A mistake on a TRE led to the zero,” said Abarca. “Overall, this duo has shown such promise preparing such a complex and high-level routine this season.”

In the Team Technical event, the U.S. placed seventh after receiving two base marks. Despite this, the team earned the second-highest artistic impression score of the competition and delivered a dynamic and expressive performance.

“Receiving a base mark… can be frustrating,” Abarca said. “But this is why we compete. Real-world competition experience is the best way for us to improve… I am proud of the improvements in this routine since Colombia.”

The U.S. acrobatic routine, “Sourceresses,” was a highlight of the weekend. The team placed fifth while earning the highest overall artistic impression score and receiving five perfect 10s across two acrobatic elements—an exciting step forward, especially with two new flyers this season.

Assistant Coach Marivi Escalona reflected on the performance:
“We were happy with the strong performance and the big improvement from Medellín… It was a strong and cohesive swim with good energy, and we had a lot of good comments from the judges and the audience. We can’t ignore the base marks… but we choose to stay with the positives moving forward.”

The team leaves Paris with clear momentum and a strong foundation for continued growth throughout the 2026 season.

“We leave Paris with our heads held high,” Abarca said. “We showed demonstrable improvement from Colombia and have a very clear understanding of how we need to improve for the future. This is only the beginning of our journey together.”