2025 World Aquatic Championships

Acrobatic Finals

The USA performed their iconic Sorceresses routine in the Preliminary rounds executing a clean swim where they finished in 4^th place.

Entering into the final rounds without securing any medals, the stars and stripes entered into the final rounds increasing their difficulty with an ‘all or nothing’ attitude at one last chance at a World Championship Medal.

Tech Team Finals

With a last minute switch in the prelims, USA started off their competition earlier in the draws than they’re used to opening the Tech Team Finals event at the World Aquatic Championships at draw #1 on Tuesday evening.

Collectively both the coaching staff and athlete Daniella Ramirez decided to keep the roster the same as prelims, keeping first time World Championship attendee Emma Moore in the mix for the US. “We were confident in Emma. We just needed a few practices to get her comfortable in the spot she was swimming for finals. We focused on the acro and the tricky patterns and connections to ensure she felt prepared” shares Head Coach Tammy McGregor.

McGregor continues, “Our goals remained the same even with the roster switch. We wanted to have an excellent acro and noticeably improved elements.”

The stars-and-stripes increased their score by 35 points from prelims to finals with a clean swim that put them at first place for seven routines putting them in 6^th place overall. McGregor was proud of the team’s results given the circumstances, but still wishes to correct some details in the future.

“While we had 24 hours to prepare for finals it is still incredible what was accomplished in that amount of time. We have spent hours mastering this routine since we chose our roster so we had to work fast. Our Acro scored 3rd overall for the finals teams which is super exciting. We had hoped to improve our synchro errors and performance but unfortunately that did not happen in this swim.”

The team continues the competition in hopes of securing a spot on the podium in their last remaining event. Preliminary rounds for the Acrobatic routine take place July 24^th at 10am Local Time.

Tech Duet Finals

Jaime Czarkowski and Ghizal Akbar finish in 10^th place on the World Stage out of a total of original 38 teams swimming both performances with no base marks or major deductions.

Akbar and Czarkowski are pleased with the result and are grateful for their experience on the World Stage as a duo.

Tech Team Prelims

Team USA had fans on the edge of their seats as they announced a last-minute roster change switching veteran Daniella Ramirez with World Championships rookie Emma Moore last minute before their swim in the Tech Team Prelims.

Their performance received two base marks, placing them below their normal placement in 12^th place – just clinching on to a qualifying spot for the Tech Team Finals planned to take place the following evening.

Due to the circumstances, USA is proud of their fight against adversity and how the team and Tech Team alternate, Emma Moore, handled the situation. “Emma is one of the most brilliant athletes under pressure. She is not just smart with counts, changes and patterns; she also is able to control her emotions in challenging situations” says Head Coach Tammy McGregor.

“It was a very hectic time, and emotions were running high across the entire team leading up to the swim. There was a lot of uncertainty, but once the decision was made for me to swim, I knew I had to make a choice—and I chose the team. There was never any doubt about whether I could do it; I just had to trust in myself and in the team. Of course, I was nervous, but with the support of my teammates and coaches, I was able to channel that energy into confidence. Honestly, there wasn’t even enough time to fully process the fact that it was my first World Championships. Instead of focusing on the stadium or everything happening around me, I just locked in on where I needed to be in the team” shares alternate Emma Moore.

The Team will appear as the #1 draw in the Tech Team Finals on July 21^st 6:30PM local time for their redemption to return to finish as one of the top teams in the world, where they belong.

Free Team Finals

USA ended their first finals competition with an incredibly strong swim which landed them at 4^th in the world in the Free Team discipline.

Although they were in arm’s length reach from taking Spain’s place on the podium with an unexpected base mark, Head Coach Tammy McGregor shares she was extremely happy with the result of the team’s final swim. “For me, the finals swim brought the full package. The acros were sharper, the energy and performance elevated, and there was a real fire in their eyes. They took everything from their prelims swim and leveled it up—more precision, more passion, more purpose.

The team headed into the final rounds with similar placing but decided to up their difficulty for the opportunity to pass one of the other leading countries for a chance at the podium. “Choosing to increase the difficulty from prelims to finals really underscored how much adapting and recalibrating strategy has become a key part of the sport today. We saw a real opportunity to contend for a medal, and that fueled our decision to raise the degree of difficulty” shares High Performance Manager Lara Teixeira.

The team was ready when coaches decided to up their DD from 68.2250 to 69.9500. “They rose to the occasion with confidence—no hesitation, no fear. Every athlete embraced the task head-on and delivered when it counted most. Watching them adapt in real time and use the near-podium result as fuel for the next event is nothing short of inspiring. It’s a moment that makes you truly proud” shared Assistant Coach Marivi Escalona.

Being just shy of a podium appearance left a bitter taste in USA’s mouth, and they plan to make some changes for the remaining finals. “In future final events, we will likely increase our difficulty more than we did. We will explore the use of more pattern changes. We will have an extensive back up plan for multiple scenarios.” Shares head Coach Tammy McGregor.

Free Team Prelims

The Free Team Routine kicked off the team events at the 2025 World Aquatic Championships, with Team USA delivering their powerful, body-themed performance—an homage to the most complex machine on Earth.

Representing the stars and stripes, the U.S. entered with a declared difficulty of 68.2250 and secured 4th place in the preliminary round—just 13.6644 points shy of the top three teams: Japan, Spain, and China.

With finals approaching tomorrow evening, Team USA plans to raise their difficulty and make a bold push for the podium.

Tech Duet Prelims

Team USA kicked off the competition with a thrilling debut of their brand-new Tech Duet routine, featuring Paris Olympic silver medalist Jaime Czarkowski and 16-year-old Junior World Champion Ghizal Akbar. Performing to the infectious beat of Abracadabra by Lady Gaga, the duo delivered a dynamic and captivating performance that marked their first outing together on the world stage.

With a declared difficulty of 35.0, they joined a highly competitive field of nine other teams at that level or higher. Their strong performance earned a total score of 265.7292, securing them 11^th place and a spot in the finals.

Czarkowski and Akbar will return for the final round on Monday, July 21st at 6:30 PM local time in Singapore / 3:30 AM in Los Angeles.