Take arguably the most graceful Olympic sport - artistic swimming - and combine it with one of the creepiest animals - a spider - and what do you get?
If you're Russia's Svetlana Kolesnichenko and Svetlana Romashina, the answer is a winning routine.
With venomous looks on their faces andspiders weaved into their swimsuits, the duo from the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) scored a 97.9000 for the eerie routine on Monday, more than a full point clear of second-placed China.
Qualifying in first place, the ROC have a fair lead over China going into the final, where they compete their free routine again to combine with their technical score.
Artistic swimming (formerly synchronised swimming) has been dominated by Russian athletes for years, with Russia winning gold in every synchronised swimming women's duet event since the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
31-year-old Romashina has won five gold medals in synchronised swimming - three in the team event and two in the duet.
Svetlana Kolesnichenko and Svetlana Romashina of the ROC compete. Photo / Getty Images
The Russian duo have been performing their spider routine since 2019, but had to make some changes to their technical routine.
Due to the ban on athletes competing under the Russian flag and name, they had to modify their music to remove all mentions of Russia and alter their swimsuits.
