Yulia Pakhalina on her Swimming Hall of Fame induction: “It’s a pleasant surprise for me”

Olympic diving champion Yulia Pakhalina told that news of her induction into the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) came as a pleasant surprise to her.

Pakhalina lives and works in the United States. The ceremony will take place on October 4 and 5 in Fort Lauderdale (United States).

—Did you expect to enter the Swimming Hall of Fame?

– Of course, this is not at all a feeling of “why am I here”, but nevertheless it came as a surprise to me, because I don’t even know how this nomination procedure begins, who initiated it . So yes, it’s a pleasant surprise.

—Who did you hear this news from?

“Olympic champion Laura Wilkinson told me she lived here.”

— Has the Russian Diving Federation congratulated you?

— Yes, I received a letter from the president of the federation.

— Do you want to go to the ceremony?

“I would like to do that,” Pakhalina told .

Pakhalina won gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and also has three silver and one bronze medals at the Games. The Russian has won the World Championships three times and the European Championships eight times.