In the latest trend amongst Russian swimmers, another star swimmer Alla Shishkina has announced she has already resumed training in the hopes of making the team for the 2019 FINA World Championships and the 2020 Olympic Games.
Shishkina is a veteran of the Russian team, and has won gold in the team event at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. She also boasts six world titles and three European gold medals, all earned in the team or free combination events.
Just like Svetlana Romashina, she had taken a break after the Rio Olympics and has not competed since. She confirmed to the Russian press at the end of August that indeed, she had started training again. If Shishkina is able to make it back to the level she had two years ago, she will likely make the team.
With this news, the selection process for the Russians is going to be quite difficult but also exciting for the next two years as head coach Tatiana Pokrovskaya aims to build the strongest team for Tokyo. They already will have to make some room to integrate the current duet swimmers – Svetlana Kolesnichenko and Varvara Subbotina – into the team routines. And now, on the condition that they are back to their elite levels, Romashina and Shishkina will certainly not be denied a spot on that Olympic team either.