“There was harmony – there was algebra. The main thing in synchronized swimming now is complexity, not aesthetics” – Ishchenko

Five-time Olympic synchronized swimming champion Natalia Ischenko said in a interview that the new rules had not improved the sport.

The innovations came into effect from the 2023 season. The staging of the programs and the refereeing have undergone changes.

– I really miss our team on the international scene, now they only show great class inside the country. At the same time, the situation is affected by significant changes in the rules adopted since this year. Look at the results of the spring stages of the World Cup, the geography of the winners has undergone some interesting changes. The essence of the new rules is that they decided to reduce refereeing in synchronized swimming to something between rhythmic gymnastics and figure skating. Now the coach announces the complexity of the program to the referees in advance, there are mandatory elements, each has its own digitized “cost”.

They struggled with subjectivity in the ratings, but came to the conclusion that everyone was evened out. The more or less strong countries now have the same elements. Aesthetics have diminished, art has disappeared, the most important thing in synchronized swimming is now complexity. Whoever succeeds is the leader. The number of lifts and matches has become the same, the duration of the program has been reduced, the beauty has disappeared. Personally, I don’t like watching this. There was harmony – there was algebra, more precisely, even mathematics.

– Are ours also being rebuilt?

– The last Russian championship was held under the new rules, the question is how long they will remain unchanged. The zest has disappeared from the sport. Sveta Kolesnichenko said in a recent interview: “Now we are sitting with calculators and we think judges weigh more.” Tatyana Pokrovskaya confirmed: she wants to make a new beautiful element, but if it’s not very difficult, we refuse, because it won’t add points,” Ishchenko told .

Now, Russian athletes are not allowed to participate in international synchronized swimming competitions due to the situation in Ukraine. Ishchenko ended his career in 2017.