Natalia Ishchenko: Brains are the main thing for any athlete

When Svetlana Romashina came up to journalists in the mixed zone, the mixed duet free routine final had just started. “Our mixed duet is the best,” she smiled.

“I cannot say that our World Championships medals are some common victory. Each medal has its own story, its own little life that is quite memorable,” the champion added.

“We haven’t gone to the planetarium or watched The X-files to seek inspiration for the Aliens routine. We just applied a different approach, trying a non-human outlook. Our coach Tatiana Danchenko has fully turned her inner world from inside out to imagine how the show might look like for non-human audience,” Romashina commented their free routine.

“Does your brain operate like a computer in this routine?” the journalists asked the synchro swimmer, referring to the statement of head coach Tatiana Danchenko who once said that these days in synchro swimming brains mattered more than arms or legs.

“Not only in this routine but in every single one. Our coach usually says that brains are the main thing that every athlete should have,” Natalia Ishchenko explained. The gold medallist also told about the preparation of the Aliens routine: “First of all we wanted to create an image. We had several variants and we chose the one which was absolutely different from the Dolls and rock routines we performed at the previous World Championships. I believe we are the first ones ever to perform as aliens. The image is easily recognisable but at the same time quite unusual.”

“The present-day refereeing system differs a bit from the previous one. I don’t remember the last time when we got 10 from the judges, that’s why it’s simply incredible,” Natalia Ishchenko said.

The last thing they told journalists was that they might perform this very routine at the European Championships, but for the Olympic Games they would definitely prepare something new. We should wait for surprises then!

Press Office of Organising Committee for 16th FINA World Championships