"I don't think anyone can stop us from taking the European Championship gold"

The main start of the aquatics season, the European Championships, will be held from July 31 to August 16 in Paris. Russian synchronized swimmers are approaching the tournament as one of the main favorites. The leader and captain of the national team, three-time world champion Maya Doroshko, in an interview with Izvestia and SE, told why she almost lost the motivation to continue her career after the last World Cup, how she copes with a record workload, what has changed in the team with the arrival of Svetlana Romashina and why she is sure that the fate of the gold medals will depend primarily on the Russians themselves..

"After the World Cup, I wasn't in the mood to continue training"

— You are the captain of our synchronized swimming team, the most experienced participant, already a three-time world champion, but you have never competed at the European Championships. Does this fact surprise you? How does it feel a month before the tournament?

— Yes, it's amazing that things didn't work out for me with the European Championships. I was on it in 2021, but not in the main squad, but as a backup. In fact, after so many starts — we've visited three World Cup stages — it's a calm feeling. We keep an eye on our rivals and see that we are not losing. Therefore, there is confidence. I want to get out of the competition as soon as possible and go on vacation.

— How much responsibility has increased, given the status of captain of the national team?

— I can't say that responsibility somehow puts a lot of pressure on me. Yes, sometimes you need to tell the girls something. It's mostly about behavior and safety measures at the start. But it turned out that everyone in the team is doing well, everyone is taking care of themselves, they understand that this is a serious job. Therefore, I cannot say that I feel pressure and worry about it very much.

— Did the time from the rookie of the national team to the most experienced participant fly by quickly? Have you noticed this transition?

— When I realize that I have been in the national team for eight years, then, to be honest, I do not believe in it. When you train, it feels like the days go on forever, but looking back, you realize that eight years have passed in an instant.

— Now you are 27 years old, which, as it seems to me, is not very old. But is there any age in comparison with other girls in training, in load tolerance?

— By the way, I thought it would be harder for me than for others. Moreover, our rules have changed, which has added physical activity. But, apparently, I have a very strong body and the body is ready to work. I can't say that I carry loads worse than younger girls. The only thing is that stretching is harder. More painful, more unpleasant. Otherwise, the age has not yet made itself felt.

— At the World Championships a year ago, you performed only in duets. Afterwards, you said that you didn't know where to find time for groups. And now, a year later, you are part of the European Championship, both in duets and in groups. Why did you decide to return?

— After the World Cup, I wasn't in the mood to continue training at all. It was mentally hard. I talked to Tatiana Evgenievna Danchenko, a personal trainer and an individual sports coach. She calmed me down. It became easier after this conversation. Tatiana Evgenievna said: "Let's move step by step, if you realize that you can't stand it, then we can do one technical duet, and then we'll try to start an arbitrary one."

That was the setup. And then a month later we stopped at the Krugloye Lake base. There have already been two duets. A month later, they told me to join the same group. And in April, they put it in another one. Somehow, everything happened by itself. I didn't expect, I didn't plan. The coaching staff decided that it was necessary to stand in two more programs. It takes a lot of time. I thought I couldn't train anymore. It turns out that it is possible.

— You've never had such a workload at major international competitions before. Are you ready for it?

— I'm a little worried about this. If we had performed once, then, I think, it would be good to postpone the competition, in the normal mode. It immediately turns out that the free program in the duet and in the group will be with the semifinals. That is, instead of four times, I will perform six times. I think it's going to be hard. I hope that the doctor will find options to support me — vitamins, massages. I'm really nervous about how it's going to go.

"The flag and the anthem have added motivation to the competition"

— After the World Cup, your duet partner Tatiana Gaidai left. Now you will be showing the technical program with Elizaveta Minaeva, and the free program with Alexandra Schmidt. How long have we been getting used to each other? Is it difficult to switch from one partner to another?

— I can't say that we got into a duet and everything started working out right away. If we talk about Lisa, I'm slower, and she's usually in a hurry. That is, I can do a little later than the music, and she can do a little earlier. Sasha and I are slightly different in our performance style. I think we spent three or four months getting used to it, and we looked good at the first stage of the World Cup in Colombia. Now I don't feel any difference between my partners at all. I'm comfortable with both Lisa and Sasha. I can't say that I have to switch too much between duets.

— How different are they in character and temperament?

— Lisa is more collected. And Sasha is relaxed, I sometimes recognize myself in her at the age of 18. She's just as calm and silent.

— Does the difference in characters somehow affect the performance?

"Maybe." Since Lisa is constantly on edge and collected, sometimes she can't stand it and at crucial moments she can overdo it and hurry up when she needs to relax. Sasha was calm in this regard, and she remains calm.

— You lived in Singapore with your partner Tatiana Gaidai. And what happens now when there are two of them?

— In the last stages, I lived alone, since we get an odd number of people.

— There was another important event in the national team — Svetlana Romashina became the head coach. What has changed with her arrival?

— We train more, and there is more communication with the coach. I judge by myself, but I didn't communicate much with Tatiana Nikolaevna [Pokrovskaya] before. There was a training process, that's all. Now all the problems are being discussed. It is important for the coaching staff that we have a dialogue. They say, "If you're tired, if something's bothering you, then be sure to come over. We will discuss it and try to solve it." Plus, Svetlana Alekseevna and I were on the same team. That's why I'm more relaxed about her now. When I joined the national team, I was very afraid of Tatiana Nikolaevna. If she asked something, it was scary to answer. There is no such thing with Svetlana Alekseevna. Of course, we always follow the chain of command, we address you by your first name and patronymic, but it has become easier to enter into dialogue.

— How was the transition from "Sveta" to "Svetlana Alekseevna" in communication with her?

— In fact, even when we were on the same team, I addressed her as "you". Because back in 2017, Svetlana Alekseevna led our group together with Natalia Sergeevna Ishchenko in the junior team. Nothing in this regard changed until September 2025. We flew to the Eastern Economic Forum with her. There was a moment when I was actively explaining something and said: "You're going to be stunned." Only then did I notice that I had addressed myself as "you." She responded, "Nothing, nothing. It's fine." A month later, Svetlana Alekseevna became the head coach, and I started calling her "you" again.

— The World Cup stage in Paris was her debut as a head coach. She is a superstar not only of synchronized swimming, but also of world sports. How do the opponents and judges react to it? Is there any advantage for the team in her high status?

— It is not always possible to observe communication with the judges, because we are constantly in an active training process. But the most noticeable thing was that many coaches came up and talked. It can be seen that Svetlana Alekseevna has many well-established contacts in synchronized swimming. And how her status affects the perception of us, I find it difficult to say. I think it's positive.

— Our team performed well at the World Cup in Paris in March. Can this be considered a good sign, considering that the European Championship will also be held in the French capital?

— Yes, I hope it's a good one, and we've set the stage for the European Championship. The only thing is, as far as I understand, the competition will be held in another pool. I don't think it will have much effect on the atmosphere and our attitude towards the start.

— How did the Parisian public receive you in March?

— good. I can't say that there were many spectators at the competition. Overall, everything was positive. Even Russian-speaking fans from Lyon came specially.

— Did you feel this support?

- yes. We were surprised when we heard that people were cheering for us from the stands. In our country, only parents often come to international competitions, but there are usually not so many of them. Therefore, it was a pleasure to perform with such noisy support.

— After returning to the international arena, you began to have a lot of flights. This season there were Colombia, France, China, and now there will be France again. How does it work for you? How unusual is this after a four-year hiatus?

— It's very unusual. The flights are also so heavy. Our journey to Colombia took maybe 30 hours. It was also difficult to get to China because of the long transfer — we sat at the airport for 7 hours. But it's still interesting to visit other countries and change the environment around you.

— How are you coping with acclimatization?

— There's no problem with that at all. It's usually harder to return to Moscow. So far, everything was going well.

— At the World Cup stages, you started performing with a flag and an anthem. Did it give you any additional motivation?

— To be honest, it was unusual, but, of course, it was pleasant. I don't even know how to describe these emotions. There was a sense of pride that you represented your country. It added motivation, but it was a little scarier that we were given access with a flag, and something might not work out for us. Thank God, everything went well, and we were happy on the podium listening to our anthem.

"We will prepare well for the tournament and cope with the excitement"

— At the World Cup a year ago, many people, including you, spoke about the controversial refereeing. What do you expect from refereeing now? Have we been judged differently at the World Cup stages?

— Yes, it's a little bit different, because there was contact with the judges. After our performances, the coaches always come up to them and ask what was missing. Therefore, it became a little clearer what the judges look at in their speeches.

— The 2025 World Cup was the first major international start after a long pause. A certain discount was made on this when summarizing the results. How much has our synchronized swimming grown, strengthened and adapted to the new rules in a year?

— I think it's very strong, because we started going to international competitions and understood the whole cuisine from the inside. Again, communication with referees and coaches from other countries has improved.

— Speaking about your goals for the European Championship, you said: "Take all the gold." What and who can prevent this?

— Anything can interfere with synchronized swimming now. It has become such an unpredictable sport with all these fines and zeroes. You can be the leader and then take seventh place because of some small mistake. But, in my opinion, we will prepare well for this start and cope with the excitement. So I don't think anyone can stop us. It all depends on ourselves.

— After the World Cup, you had a vague statement about whether you would have enough strength before the Olympics. How do you feel now, is it enough to go through the whole cycle?

— I follow Tatiana Evgenievna's advice and evaluate everything step by step. Now I'm going to try to compete six times at the European Championships. Maybe after that I'll say, "No, I don't want to do that anymore." Or maybe, on the contrary: "Cool! I can! I will do it!" Of course, now I think that we have the strength and we need to use the opportunities. It would be foolish not to reach the Olympics. But, as they say, if you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans. So for now, I'm choosing tactics to move step by step from competition to competition.