GWANGJU, South Korea, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian artistic swimmer Svetlana Romashina topped the women's solo free preliminary at the 18th FINA World Championships here on Monday.
The 29-year-old finished first in 96.4667 points among 32 contestants at Yeomju Gymnasium in Gwangju, some 330 km to the south of South Korea's capital Seoul.
The Russian Olympic champion, who won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and two more golds at the 2016 Rio Olympics, took the duet technical title at the Gwangju worlds in tandem with Svetlana Kolesnichenko on Sunday.
Spanish veteran Ona Carbonell ranked second in 93.8333 in the solo free heats, after conceding the gold medal to Kolesnichenko in a solo technical event at the worlds.
Japan's Yukiko Inui, the bronze medalist in the solo technical event on Saturday, came in third again in the solo free preliminary at 92.5667.
The solo free finals in artistic swimming are scheduled for Wednesday.
