Team China competes in the Synchronized Swimming Free Combination preliminary round.

Russia, China and Spain seized the top three places in the free combination preliminary of the synchronized swimming at the 14th FINA World Championships on Tuesday.

Russia, led by the double gold-medalist Natalia Ishchenko, topped the 15-team qualifying sessions with 97.97 points.

China and Spain followed with 96.32 and 95.64 respectively. All three booked the berths in the final to be held on Thursday.

"The inspiration of our routine came from the story Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," Chinese swimmer Wu Yiwen said.

"The Spainish team are good at strength and speed while we have an edge in technique and quality. The atmosphere is terrific and the home crowds gave us a lot of support," she added.

The top three positions were just the same as decided in the technical solo and duets final, which showed the dominant status of the trio in the world's synchronized swimming.

"Russia and China are all good teams. We have to fight. We will emphasize on synchronisation. We are expecting a medal," said Spanish player Marga Crespi.