Russia's Natalia Ishchenko retained her technical solo synchronised swimming title at the world championships on Monday.

The judges rolled off a string of 9.9s after her sombre but controlled display and she splashed to the top of the standings with an overall score of 98.667.

The music was rather more classical than the Bruce Springsteen concert which took place next door the previous evening but the girls more than matched the veteran rocker's famed dexterity.

With no performance-enhancing bodysuits in sight, the girls glided through the water in their colourful costumes with Spain's Gemma Mengual finishing second and Canada's Marie-Pier Boudreau Gagnon taking bronze.

(Xinhua News Agency July 20, 2009)