By the age of 24, Svetlana holds 26 gold medals, 15 of which were taken at the World Synchronized Swimming Championships, and three at the Olympics in Beijing and London. It’s hard to believe, but as a child Romashina did not at all look like the girl from whom the future champion will grow.
Looking at you, you won’t think that such a slender girl was once fat.
To be honest, I was not a gifted and promising child. Quite the opposite. I was quite fat and not quite suitable for any higher sporting achievements. The swimming coach set a condition: if you want to continue to play sports and do it seriously, you need to improve stretching and urgently lose weight. My mother helped me with this. She pledged to fulfill all the requirements and promised that over the summer I would lose weight and become almost a master in rhythmic gymnastics.
Had to go on a diet?
I was deprived of all childhood joys, such as chocolates, rolls, cotton candy, ice cream. The morning always began with porridge, be it buckwheat, oatmeal, or millet. The lunch was complete, it included the first and the second. For dinner, as a rule, there was a light vegetable salad or a glass of kefir.
Still denying yourself sweets?
There was a time when we adhered to strict diets and were weighed in the national team almost every day. For me, I think, like for many girls on the team, it was not easy. Sometimes the most delicious dinner was a piece of black bread with vegetable oil and salt. Today I do not adhere to any special diets and can eat almost any food. I love chocolate very much. For me, this is a kind of hormone of joy, without which sometimes even training is not easy.
By the way, ahead of you is the European Aquatics Championship in Berlin. The tough menus of athletes and the pre-competition regime are legendary. Is everything really that strict?
As before all major competitions, we have intensive workouts twice a day. One workout lasts from four hours or more. Then the preparation in the hall, and so on for five days, and then the day off. The hardest part during this period is to get yourself up at 7 am after you left the pool at 22:30 pm the previous day. As for weight, doctors and masseurs monitor it and our nutrition. We are not starving. At workouts, there is always a plate of fruits, dried fruits, nuts, in case the body runs out of energy. Then in your free time you can have a snack and replenish your strength. Usually, in addition to fruits, nuts, dried fruits, my daily diet includes meat or fish. It is from these products that I draw energy and strength.
Are there any simple water exercises that every girl can perform and with their help pull herself up, lose weight?
Sure! And they can be done not only in the pool, but also in any body of water, be it a pond, lake or sea. Water training is one of the most effective and really helps to be in good shape.