In a historic transition for Russian artistic swimming, legendary coach Tatiana Pokrovskaya has stepped down as head coach of the senior national team after nearly three decades at the helm.
The news was announced on November 10 during an extraordinary conference of the Russian Aquatics Federation held in Kazan, where federation chairman Dmitry Mazepin confirmed that Pokrovskaya will move into a new role as advisor to the chairman.
Seven-time Olympic champion Svetlana Romashina, the most decorated athlete in the history of the sport, has been nominated to take over the national team. Her candidacy will be submitted to the Russian Ministry of Sport for approval.
“I look back and see only synchronized swimming in my life,” Pokrovskaya told Match TV. “All my days were filled with it. Now I won’t work so much in the water, because sitting on the side of the pool 24/7 is already difficult. And with the new rules, it’s no longer as interesting to me. My mission will be different.
The coaches who join the national team will work with the athletes on their routines. They’ve worked with junior teams, but that’s just a stepping stone to the main team. There’s a lot of work to do. The new rules seem to have leveled the playing field. We need to restructure our work in the water and in the gym. We need to regain our former strengths.”
Pokrovskaya’s departure truly marks the end of an era. Since taking over in 1998, she has led Russia to an unprecedented reign of dominance, steering her swimmers to every Olympic gold medal from Sydney 2000 through Tokyo 2020 and to nearly every World and European title in between, cementing the country’s reputation as the sport’s unshakable powerhouse.
The Russian team had not been allowed to compete internationally as a national delegation since 2022, missing three consecutive World Championships. In 2024, Russia was also unable to take part in the Paris Olympic Games due to ongoing international restrictions.
When Russian athletes finally returned to the world stage in 2025, competing under the “Neutral Athletes B” designation, it marked a new chapter for the program. In Singapore, the team’s gold-medal streak officially came to an end, with the squad finishing second behind China in both the technical and acrobatic team events.
Romashina, 34, retired from competition in 2023 after a storied career that yielded seven Olympic titles and 21 World Championship gold medals. In 2025, she returned to the pool deck as part of the coaching staff for Russia’s youth and junior national teams, where she notably worked with rising soloists Aleksandra Pishchikova and Alisa Shevchenko.
“I have high hopes for her,” Pokrovskaya told Match TV. “She’s come from a long background with the national team. She was an impeccably strong athlete, and no one would argue with that. But as a coach, she still has some learning to do. Team is the most difficult discipline in synchronized swimming. But it’s no coincidence that she won so many medals—she has a good mind and a strong character: she can lead the team. So I have high hopes for Svetlana and I believe in her.”
Pokrovskaya, now 75, will still remain deeply involved in the sport in her new advisory capacity, supporting both the national team’s coaching staff and the wider development of artistic swimming across Russia.
ARTICLE BY CHRISTINA MARMET
Cover photo: Andrea Masini / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
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