Russian coaches help to develop teams worldwide

DELHI, Oct 6 - DCWG


Synchronised Swimmers need to get in sync with a Russian coach to become the best in the world.

Russian competitors dominated international events for more than a decade and now many are helping to improve performances of other national teams.

Their expertise is so valuable that athletes are willing to cope with language and cultural barriers to benefit from the superior techniques these coaches are able to teach.

Russian was the most common language heard around the pool as representatives of nine Commonwealth Games Associations rotated on a tight 15-minute session training schedule at the Dr S.P. Mukherjee Aquatics Complex.

Maryna TSIMASHENKA (RUS) moved from Belarus to Singapore about ayear ago to help develop their national team.

Gayle Lee is Singapore's best exponent of the sport and although she lives in California and only occasionally trains in her home country, TSIMASHENKA was nevertheless sent to Delhi to support her.
 “In Russia, Synchro is so important that everyone talks about it all the time," said TSIMASHENKA. "We have all the funding and the pool space we need to train.

"n Singapore, I see beautiful girls with potential, but they lack commitment. I feel frustrated at times as it is difficult to get them involved and dedicated and therefore achieve results. There is not enough attention to this sport compared to my country.”

Anna NEPOTACHEVA (RUS) has been training the Australian Synchronised Swimming team for more than six years, contributing to their growth and technical improvements.

Tarren OTTE (AUS) trains full time with NEPOTACHEVA, while the Duet team is coached by Marina KHOLOD (UKR) at their home club Neptunes in Brisbane.

 Synchronised Swimming is not among the elite sports in Australia and the team does not excel at Olympic level, yet NEPOTACHEVA is confident results can improve with more dedicated training.

“I hope to bring the girls to compete in London 2012 Olympic Games," she said.

 The best assets of the Russian school are precision and flawless execution. With many national teams developing technical merit over the artistic impression, Synchronised Swimming might face a widespread flattening of the routines performed in the future.