From this July 2025 the name of Iris Tió Casas, from Barcelona, will be engraved forever in the memory of Spanish sport. The young woman from Barcelona has become the first artistic swimmer from Spain to win a world gold medal in the solo freestyle, breaking a historic barrier against traditional powers such as China or Belarus.
Her performance at the World Championship in Singapore, at the age of 22, has dazzled both for its technical perfection and its artistic expressiveness, achieving the unanimous applause of the public and judges. The routine, accompanied by a moving rendition of Céline Dion’s “Hymne à l’Amour”, achieved a score that no rival could match, sealing a historic gold.
Who is Iris Tió
Born in Barcelona in 2002, Iris started practicing synchronized swimming (now known as artistic swimming) when she was only nine years old, and, as is usual in these disciplines, her dedication has been absolute over the years, training daily and competing in local clubs before jumping to the top level.
Throughout her career she has accumulated more than 20 medals in European Championships, World Championships and Olympic Games before turning 23 years old.
Three-time world champion: why Iris Tió’s performance at the Singapore 2025 World Cup is historic
The gymnast from Barcelona has won a triple crown at the Singapore 2025 World Aquatics Championships, with a historic performance.
The first milestone was the aforementioned gold medal in the solo freestyle, being the first Spanish swimmer in history to achieve it.
But in addition, the swimmer has won the gold in Women’s Duet Free (with Lilou Lluís), being, again, the first time that Spain has reached the top in this modality.
The third gold has come with the Mixed Free Duet (with Dennis Gonzalez). This gold is also historic because Dennis Gonzalez is the first male swimmer to reach a World Championship podium in a team event, and because it confirms Spain as an emerging power against the traditional dominators such as Russia and China.
Adding another three bronze medals in different team events, the Barcelona native is already the star of the Spanish Olympic swimming delegation, making the country a power in the specialty as it had never been before.