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ANASTASIA DAVYDOVA

Anastasia Davydova, five-time Olympic Champion for Russia, has fled Russia as reported on the national news. She does not plan on returning. According to Match TV, she is in Dubai. Davydova is also a 13-time world champion and a seven-time European champion for Russia. Her artistic swimming school, the Anastasia Davydova Olympic Synchronized Swimming Center, and one of the best clubs nationally, is located in Moscow and continues to operate.

She is also the general secretary of the Russian Olympic Committee and a member of the board of the Russian Synchronized Swimming Federation.

 

“Swiss synchronised swimming needs overhaul,” report finds

Following an internal investigation by Swiss Aquatics, the national governing body, a report revealed unethical training methods, chaotic organization, and conflicts of interest looming within the artistic swimming section at the federation.

The report claimed that the sport is “corroded by an atmosphere of fear and nepotism,” and that training sessions included threats, insults, and physical over-taxing of athletes.

This internal investigation was triggered after numerous athletes, including current and former national team members like Joelle Peschl and Ladina Lippuner, spoke up in June in an investigation aired by SRF about the issues they faced within the federation.

The two co-directors of the Swiss artistic swimming federation stepped down shortly after the piece aired. On September 22, Vanessa-Nadège Ducoloné was named the new sport’s director. Additionally and according to Swiss Info, Swiss Aquatics has pledged to enact various reforms to change the culture in the sport.

The final investigation report is available in French and German.

COACHES SHUFFLE

• Mayuko Fujiki, Spain’s head coach, is working with Brazil‘s national team as a consultant. The squad is gearing up to compete at the South American Games in Paraguay next week.
• Yelizaveta Yakhno, Ukrainian Olympic bronze medalist, has been named the new assistant coach of Canada‘s senior team. The role was previously held by Kasia Kulesza, who became National Next Gen Head Coach last July. Yakhno was already part of the Canadian coaches delegation at the World Championships last June.
• Ilaria Brandimarte is the new head coach of Aruba‘s national team. A former Great Britain national team member, Brandimarte had been coaching for the last few years in Dubai at HUNA Aquatics and Synquatics.

BACK HOME

• Ukraine’s national team is back in its home country and is now training in Kyiv. The Ukrainians trained in Italy from March to August. Their training center in Kharkiv, the Lokomotyv sports complex, was destroyed by missiles at the beginning of September. The squad, made of 18 athletes and seven coaches, will soon head to Turkey for a three-week training camp.

SCHEDULE UPDATE

• Aquatics made the final cut for the 2023 European Games in Poland, and is the final discipline to be added to the programme. Artistic swimming and diving have been put forth as the most two suitable options in regards to the available venues. Aquatics were featured at that meet in 2015, although only as a junior event, but not in 2019.

RETIREMENTS

• Federica Sala, Tokyo Olympic reserve for Italy, announced her retirement at the European Championships in Rome after the free combination final, where she won silver.
• Maria Clara Lobo Coutinho, a 2016 Olympian for Brazil, wrote on her Instagram account that she was stepping away from the sport. She last competed in 2021 in the team events at the South American Championships.

ARTICLE BY CHRISTINA MARMET

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