Right, right, it’s April 28th. Surprise! Not the first of the month, but with the Xi’an World Cup throwing off our usual schedule (rude), and actual news happening, here we are.

Neutral Athletes No More

The big news of these last few weeks has been, of course, World Aquatics lifting all sanctions against Russian and Belarusian athletes.

This means that now, senior athletes with Belarusian or Russian sport nationality will be permitted to compete in World Aquatics events in the same way as their counterparts representing other sport nationalities, with their respective uniforms, flags and anthems.

European Aquatics has yet to make a statement on what they will do for the Paris European Championships this summer. That said, they followed AQUA’s changes fairly quickly when these neutral requirements were lifted for the youth and junior categories a few months back.

 

More Russian News

• Three-time World and European Champion Maya Gurbanberdieva has retired from artistic swimming.

She said in a video posted on her Telegram channel: “[…] I devoted 23 years to this sport, pouring my whole heart, love, and dedication into it. I feel a lot of pain and sadness, because it’s as if a piece of my heart has been torn away. But, unfortunately, things don’t always depend on us. Sometimes circumstances arise; that’s life, and it’s normal. You just have to gather your strength and get through it all.

I am grateful to my sport for turning me into a truly resilient person and for the opportunities it has given me. And now I am turning the page and heading in a direction that isn’t entirely clear to me yet, but there will clearly be something very interesting there. A new chapter in my life is beginning, but the path to my dream continues.”

Indeed, she doesn’t retire from sports entirely, as she will start a new career in bobsleigh.

In interviews to the Russian press, she explained that she actually was scouted by a bobsleigh coach when she was still a junior, who had told her she’d be a good fit for the sport. Obviously, she had never really thought about it again until now, and she very much still has a competitive fire, and big dreams, in her.

• Seven-time World Champion Aleksandr Maltsev has announced he is taking a break this season:

“This year, I put my athletic career on hold and switched to coaching. My athletes have already made the national teams, and now I’m preparing them for international competitions.”

Maltsev actually will be at the Xi’an World Cup, coaching Vladimir Pershin and Arina Tunkina in solo and mixed duet.

Retirement

• Two-time Olympian Monica Arango of Colombia is also officially hanging up her suit. Arango has had a tremendous career at the elite level, notably making history by qualifying a duet to the Olympic Games for the first time in the country’s history in 2016. Overall, she competed at six World Championships, three Pan American Games, and is a 22-time medalist at the Central American and Caribbean Games. She did not see international action in 2025, as she gave birth to her daughter Alma.

Olympic Trials

While most eyes will be on Xi’an, it’s a big weekend across the Pacific for Team USA, which is already kicking off its Olympic Trials process. Not to select the final eight athletes just yet of course, but to determine the pool of 12 – 16 swimmers from which the LA 2028 team will eventually be chosen. No one is exempt, and even current national team members have to go through it. In total, 20 athletes will be vying for those coveted spots.

In short, if you don’t make it through this stage, you’re out of Olympic contention. Which may also mean that some athletes on the current team may not make it through, or even finish the season.

After nearly two years away from elite, 2024 Olympic silver medalist Ruby Remati will be among those trying out. She just wrapped up her collegiate career at the Ohio State University, winning the A Elements and Duet events at this year’s U.S. Collegiate Nationals, and will be the only Paris team member not currently on the national team to enter the process.

The other “external” athletes — who have already advanced through an earlier selection phase — are Mona Schwickert, Hevin Park, Yilian Yuan, Jennifer Ryu, David Llorente Fernandez and Chloe Fu. Park, Yuan and Fu were part of the 2025 World Youth Championships team, while Schwickert competed at the 2022 and 2023 editions.

More Teams

• European Aquatics has launched a program to boost team entries on the road to the Paris 2026. Three national federations — Portugal, Türkiye and Bulgaria — are now receiving 10,000 euros each to prepare teams to compete at this summer’s European Championships.This initiative was prompted by the fact that, while many federations had athletes involved in solo or duet competition, the number of countries taking part in the team events was relatively limited. More on that initiative soon.

Training Camp

• Team Thailand recently traveled to Italy, where their coaches Claudia and Massimo Tapparelli are from, for a training camp.

ARTICLE BY CHRISTINA MARMET

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