The composition is new, the result is the same: the Russian synchronized swimmers won the gold of the World Championship, despite the rejuvenation of the team. Then only the "artists": seven victories of Russians in synchronized swimming at the World Championships Latest in history

After the 2016 Olympic Games, which ended with another triumph for the Russian synchronized swimming team, a major update awaited the Russian team. The main stars - five-time Olympic champions Natalya Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina - announced a pause in their careers. As a result, the coaching staff during the World Cup had to go to bold experiments. So, for the first time since junior age, Svetlana Kolesnichenko performed in the competition of soloists and won gold. Alexandra Patskevich had to make her debut in duets, but she did not flinch either, winning in a pair with the same Kolesnichenko. Group competitions were next in line - by the way, Kolesnichenko and Patskevich were not included in the Russian team. However, Svetlana herself thanked the head coach Tatyana Pokrovskaya for such a decision, explaining that it would be “morally difficult” for her to perform in the group as well.

As a result, the composition of the Russian G8 appeared to be radically updated. Of the Rio Olympic champions, only Maria Shurochkina and Vlada Chigiryova remained in the roster. At 22, they found themselves in the role of veterans of the national team, and the whole burden of responsibility fell on their fragile shoulders.

The rest are even younger. Twin sisters Anastasia and Daria Bayandin will turn 21 only in November. 20 years old and Maria Golyadkina with Darina Valitova. Veronika Kalinina is only 18, and Polina Kamar is 17. Valitova, however, two years ago in Kazan managed to become the world champion in mixed doubles paired with Alexander Maltsev.

With the sharply rejuvenated composition of the Russian national team, it was necessary to reaffirm their own hegemony in synchronized swimming. However, when such a person as Tatyana Pokrovskaya is at the head of the team, there can be no doubt about the success of the case. Tatyana Nikolaevna has been working with the Russian national team since 1998 and during this time she has trained more than one golden team.

“Of course, it was in connection with the departure of Ishchenko and Romashina that there were certain concerns, but the professionalism of the coaches who train synchronized swimmers for the national team continues to bear fruit. I have already talked about the group, and after all, girls who recently left the junior team also entered its composition at the World Cup. During this year, Pokrovskaya did a great job so that they could complete the Olympic technical program. As a result, the Russian team continues to hold a very high bar, ”the former ward of Pokrovskaya, three-time Olympic champion Olga Brusnikina, told RT.

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Gold in the heat

As a result, the performance in Budapest turned out to be difficult for the updated Russian team. In the Hungarian capital that day thermometers showed above 30 ºC, and the competition was held in an outdoor pool. As luck would have it, the domestic team received the last, 12th, number and had to wait for all the rivals to perform.

But the girls were not embarrassed. Once in the pool, they did everything perfectly. The elements in their performance looked simply amazing. It seemed like they had been performing together for many years. Of course, this team is still far from the level that won the Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro, but the next games are still three years away. However, even now the Russian team has turned out to be inaccessible to competitors. The domestic eight scored 96.0109 points and was almost two points ahead of the second Chinese women (94.2165) - a whole gulf in synchronized swimming. It is curious that the representatives of the Celestial Empire chose a technical program with Russian folk motives. Bronze in a stubborn struggle with Ukraine was won by Japanese women (93.1590).

"There is a team change"

But Tatyana Pokrovskaya, after the end of the competition, finally agreed to call her wards a team.

“I was very worried about this group. Training is one thing, but I didn’t know how athletes would behave in competitions. At the preliminary stage, they seemed to be warming up, a little cautious. And they did well today. I am pleased. There is a team. Before the championship, I said: “There is no team, there is no team ...” And now I can say that the team was born. There is a change to the team that I called “animals” - when the girls came out - everyone was trembling, energy was in full swing from them, ”the All Sport agency quotes the coach as saying.

Pokrovskaya also said what she thinks about the Chinese women who have chosen the music to which the Russians once performed.

“For the technical program, the Chinese chose Russian folk motifs. And for the free program they took "Prayer"! It was our favorite Olympic program. The girls even asked not to put her with anyone else. Alas, this music is not only written for us. We ourselves found it on the Internet and cannot prevent others from using it. But still, it's embarrassing. After all, I processed it, specially accelerated it at the end ... And now it seems that the Chinese took it and simply added another 30 seconds to our version. Here is the music for our current programs - this is an exclusive. It was written by Denis Garnizov, who collaborates with the Todes ballet. A very promising young composer in particular in working with dance groups. His father, Alexei Garnizov, used to write for Todes, and now Denis continues his work. I’m already taking his third melody - he wrote two especially for us, and the third one, Dinosaurs, I found on the Internet and asked permission, ”added Pokrovskaya.

In turn, the Olympic champion Vlada Chigireva, who won the seventh gold of the world championships, admitted that she was still worried.

“Each performance is exciting for us, and today the sunny weather also made its own adjustments - it was very hot. But it was also hot from the support of our fans. We go to the start without confidence in our victory, the main thing for us is to fight with ourselves. Every time we worry that something might go wrong, but we worked to the maximum, so we got such marks, ”TASS quotes Chigiryova.

At the world championships, the Russian team in synchronized swimming traditionally collects almost all the gold. The collection of the national team in Budapest already has six gold medal sets. Russian girls received all the awards of the highest standard in solo, duets and mixed doubles - both in technical and free programs. The last chord was the gold of the group in the free program, which was won, despite the radical renewal of the line-up.

Tatyana Danchenko has been working with soloists and duets in the national team for many years, and so successfully that her wards have already chalked up 25 gold medals of the world championships. In an interview with RT, the coach told how she managed to put victories on the conveyor and what she thinks about her closest competitors.

“No one is trying to sue us”

- Thanks to the victory of Svetlana Kolesnichenko and Alexandra Patskevich in the free program of duets, as a coach, you now have 25 gold medals in the world championships. Have you tried to comprehend this incredible figure yourself?

- Awareness has not yet come. So far, I'm just really happy with what happened. In addition, the long-awaited vacation has come, and I feel a sense of deep satisfaction from the work done.

Which of these medals is the most valuable?

“Each one is important in its own way. Behind every medal lies serious work and hard work. I put all my soul into these competitions, and now I can’t even single out anything. Although I remember well the first World Cup medal. In 2001, in Fukuoka, Anastasia Davydova and Anastasia Ermakova remained second in the duet competition, but two years later they already won in Barcelona!

- Every two years at the World Cup, the Russian team collects almost all the gold medals. Doesn't the joy of victory fade with time?

- If it was easy for us or the judges would give the Russians overestimated marks, then maybe the euphoria from the victories would dull the sensations. And so we try not only to keep the bar and win, but to win by a huge margin, so that the judges do not even have doubts who is the strongest here. So the victories are given to us with great difficulty and, of course, after each we experience great joy.

- It is clear that in the international federation they are not too happy with the hegemony of the Russians. Aren't you afraid that we might be sued? For example, in the mixed doubles in the technical program, the Italians became the best, and one of the referees was the father of the champion, Giorgio Minisini.

- There was a lot of talk about this story in the mixed doubles, but in fact, Roberto Minisini has been judging synchronized swimming for a long time, and he has an excellent reputation. Moreover, for some reason, everyone did not notice that the father's assessment during the son's speech was eventually discarded. As for my wards, I don’t feel any pressure at all. There is no such thing that we are tired of someone. If we perform well, then the marks are appropriate. But you need to understand that synchronized swimming is a subjective sport, Russian women always need to be three heads taller.

“In such heat, they gave one installation - to survive”

- Kolesnichenko and Patskevich got into a duet only six months ago, and the latter had never performed in pairs before. Is it a miracle that they took two gold medals in Budapest?

- Miracle? There are no miracles in sports. This result was achieved thanks to hellish work in training. Perhaps, I realized that the girls are able to take gold, even during demonstration performances in the training center "Round Lake". It was three weeks before the World Cup.

- As already mentioned, for Patskevich this was the first experience of performing in duets. Was it hard to prepare for them?

- Firstly, she is a very experienced and purposeful girl. Two-time Olympic champion. It was necessary to work with her correctly, to choose a special technique just for her. It is clear that Sasha was very hard, she understood that the duet is not a group. She was well aware of the fact that these are completely different styles, different work. But Patskevich coped with everything and achieved a high result.

- What is the main difference between a duet and a group?

- I would not say that the girls had to be taught directly, they just needed to learn some new things. Of course, the duet has its own specifics. In the group, everyone performs equalizations, supports, again, there are seven partners around you who can tell you. And there are only two of you in the duet. Every detail matters here. The girls in the duet really work without the right to make a mistake.

- In Budapest, a strong heat has been lingering in recent days. How to keep fit in this weather?

- In such heat, it was hellishly difficult for the girls to perform. There was only one goal - to survive, to make the program with force, to make a minimum of mistakes, and most importantly, not to forget what country we represent.

- You were probably only glad when, after the victory of Kolesnichenko and Patskevich in the free program, the wards traditionally bathed you in the pool?

To be honest, I didn't expect this laughs). Usually coaches are bathed after the performance of the group. I don't remember this happening after the duet. Ugliness. It was pretty cold. Sanctions for girls? Of course we won't punish them! I just wasn't ready for it, I didn't even have spare clothes with me. I had to get out somehow.

“It is strange that the Chinese are fighting Russia with our own methods”

- The Chinese women almost completely copied the Mermaid free program, with which Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina won at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and which Kolesnichenko and Patskevich put on the World Cup.

- Not completely. But on the first line they took a lot of moves from us. You can't argue here. I think that it is not entirely ethical for the strongest teams in the world to fight Russia using Russian methods. If people claim to be world champions, they must be able to do something of their own.

- The composition of the group compared to the Olympic Games in Rio was almost completely updated, but Russia again took two gold medals. Were there any fears that it might not work?

“I was sure that everything would turn out well. Tatyana Nikolaevna Pokrovskaya and I (a long-term coach of the Russian national team. — RT) we are worried about the quality of our performance. We want not just to win, but to win beautifully, so that there will be no talk after that.

- They are trying to bypass Russia by any means, using our own programs. Do you feel that the pressure is increasing every year and that it is becoming more and more difficult to earn gold?

- In fact, every year after the end of the season, the next one immediately begins. You have to work very hard. There is always pressure and responsibility. To keep the winning bar, you need to move only forward. If we stop even for a moment, they will immediately overtake us. In a year, in two. The main thing is not to stand still!

As part of the group, two golds of the tournament, in addition to Shurochkina and Chigireva, were won by Daria and Anastasia Bayandins, Marina Golyadkina, Darina Valitova, Polina Komar, Veronika Kalinina.

Plagiarism

Another group program at this tournament was, albeit a little, but Russian and also brought gold. It was a "combination" performed by the Chinese team. For her production, the Chinese took part of the famous "Prayer", with which the Pokrovskaya team triumphantly performed in Rio.

"The Chinese took about two minutes of the music that we had from Prayer. Without cutting, without anything, and the most interesting thing is that there are also movements from our program. This confused everyone the most. It turns out that they are fighting with us our music, our elements," Romashina clarified the situation.

The Chinese synchronized swimmers themselves gave evasive answers to direct questions about borrowing. “They don’t admit it. Who admits this,” Romashina was indignant.

Latest in history

The last world champions in synchronized swimming - now it will officially be artistic - were the Russians Mihaela Kalancha / Alexander Maltsev. There were a lot of special moments in the mixed duets competition. In particular, the criticism was caused by the fact that the technical program was judged by Father Giorgio Minizini. Both Minisini and Manila Flamini defeated the Russians, who presented Carmen to the jury, while the Italians themselves performed the Lampeduso Scream program, which they were given by four-time Olympic champion Anastasia Ermakova.

The synchronized swimmers of the Russian team took the fifth gold in the outdoor pool of Budapest, where the World Aquatics Championship is being held. Svetlana Kolesnichenko and Oleksandra Patskevich had no equal in the free program of duets, who confidently defeated rivals from China with a difference of 1.7 points. The Chinese women could not cope with the invincible Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina, they could not resist the new generation of our mermaids.

No ideas - take Russian

The former head coach of the Spanish synchronized swimming team, Ana Tarres, has never been shy about borrowing whole pieces of programs from her Russian colleagues. Nothing has changed with her transfer to the Chinese team. The duo Jiang Tingting and Jiang Wenwen showed in Budapest a slightly modernized Mermaid program, with which our five-time Olympic champions Ishchenko and Romashina shone.

Entire pieces of the program and even swimwear were simply copied by the Chinese team. This is not prohibited by the rules, and, probably, on the one hand, it can serve as the best assessment of the work of the Russian school of synchronized swimming. But after all, we are not talking about the teams of Austria or Kazakhstan, for example, which medals in the "synchronous" pool can only dream of, but about the main competitors.

Pokrovskaya - in pink, Russia - in gold. Synchronized swimmers are invincible

Russian synchronized swimmers won the gold of the World Championship - 2017 in the technical program of the groups. Completely new composition.

In synchronized swimming, there has long been a practice to show Olympic programs for the next season after the Games, but if they are shown by a team from the same country. In Budapest, the Chinese women swung at the "Mermaids". If it were figure skating, the judges would not have given them such high marks - there, repetitions, even in their own performance, are not welcome. But this is a different sport in which the hegemony of Russia is already fed up with everyone.

Chinese women swung at the Russian "Mermaids". If it was figure skating, plagiarism would have been reflected in the marks.

New mermaids are not worse than the old ones

That is why the judges generously gave the Chinese women high scores. It was clear that if anyone could get ahead of Tintin and Wenwen, then only the Russians.

By lot, Kolesnichenko and Patskevich competed through the same team after the Chinese, and our girls, together with their mentor Tatyana Danchenko, had the opportunity to accumulate all the emotions associated with outright plagiarism. Moreover, Svetlana and Alexandra themselves acted not as the original, but as new performers of one of the most difficult programs in the history of synchronized swimming.

Angela and Dimona. you yourself are disgusting

The mixed Russian duet won silver at the World Championships in synchronized swimming. Men in this sport should have a place in the Olympic program.

The new generation of Russian mermaids turned out to be no worse than the previous one. Height, grace, acrobatics - the highest class, so far unattainable for anyone. But the judges were a bit stingy with the scores for Kolesnichenko and Patskevich. The gap between Russians and Chinese women in this Olympic synchronized swimming event could be at least one point more than the final one.

Tatyana Danchenko, who was more nervous than usual before the start of the performance, immediately blossomed and kissed the new world champions. You can exhale, but the sediment still remains - when ideas are simply stolen, it is always unpleasant.

Height, grace, acrobatics - the highest class, so far unattainable for anyone. The total score for Kolesnichenko and Patskevich could have been higher.

13 hundredths in favor of Ukraine

The intrigue in the free program of duets was not only in the comparison of the original and the copy, but also in the struggle for the third place, which was equally claimed by the teams of Ukraine and Japan. Both duets were worthy of bronze medals, but there are practically no equal points in synchronized swimming.

Golden Debut. The new star of the Russian national team in synchronized swimming

The first gold of the Russian team at the World Aquatics Championships was predictably won by synchronized swimmer Svetlana Kolesnichenko.

That is why the judges, having calculated everything, rated the program of Anna Voloshina and Elizaveta Yakhno a little higher. Yukiko Inui and Kanami Nakamaki lost only 0.13 points to the Ukrainians. In synchronized swimming at the World Championships in Budapest, three more sets of awards remain to be played - in free programs of mixed duets and groups and in combination. In the latter form, the Russian team will not be represented.