Their legs and lungs may have been burning in the deep-water pool, but that didn't prevent a pair of sisters from standing atop the podium at the Prince George Aquatic Centre on Friday.
Ioana Gheta, 18 and her 16-year-old sister Maria from Laval, Que., won gold in the synchronized swimming duet final with a personal-best 75.0928 points at the Canada Winter Games.
That total was 0.6927 better than the Alberta pair of Paige Hopper and Cassie Winkelaar who scored 74.3407 to win the silver medal.
Ontario's Sabrina Barnes and Meaghan Ozikizler earned the bronze medal with 70.1837 points.
The Gheta's fast-paced three minutes 30 second routine was set to classical music.
"We were really synchronized today and together," said Ioana.
"It was actually one of our hardest swims, my legs were like Jello," added Maria. "Usually when we're more tired, we're more synchronized."
They spent six months putting it together and perfecting it prior to unveiling it in Prince George in Wednesday's preliminary round where they were the top team with 74.342 points, a score that determined their advancement to the A finals.
"We've put a lot of hours in practice, about 30 hours per week," said Ioana.
For Alberta's Hopper, 13 and Winkelaar, 14, from Calgary, they fine-tuned an older routine from 2013 to perfection for the silver medal. The swim had a gypsy theme.
"It was a lot of fun to do and I think the key today was really staying together and having sharp synchronicity," said Hopper.
"This is our first time together as a duet. We've been working on it since September and we just pushed it this week."
Ontario's Barnes and Ozikizler, both 15, have been swimming together for eight years in Toronto and used that familiarity with each other to grab the bronze medal.
"We felt really prepared going into the final and we had a strong swim today so we're pretty happy," said Ozikizler.
"We had one of our best swims today, that (score of 72.833) is one of our personal bests this year," added Barnes.
Ten teams competed in Friday's A final.
B.C.'s duet team of Katrina Hohensee and Sarah Jones was fourth with 70.1837 points, while Saskatchewan's Kenzie Pridell and Sage Sunley scored 68.6928 points for fifth place.
The team of Megan McGuigan and Josee Thomas from New Brunswick was sixth with 67.2197 points.
Duet scores were based on 40 per cent artistic, and 30 per cent each on execution and difficulty.
Medals were also handed out in the team category on Friday. Quebec, Alberta and Ontario won gold, silver and bronze respectively.
The solo finals are today with the B final at 9:30 a.m., followed by the A final at 11:30 a.m. where medals will be awarded.
