Olympic synchronized swimming champion: “Before the big tournaments, we had a tradition: the priest came to us and gave us communion”

Olympic synchronized swimming champion Gelena Topilina told that the Russian national team always meets with the priest of the Orthodox church before major tournaments.

Topilina is the Olympic champion of the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. She also won three gold medals at the World and European Championships. The synchronized swimmer retired in May 2019.

— Before each big competition, the priest came to see us and gave us communion. I dealt with this well, because I am Orthodox and those of other faiths could, of course, stay nearby and listen, but they had their own rituals.

— Was it Tatiana Nikolaevna Pokrovskaya’s initiative?

– Yes. We have such a tradition. I remember that before the World Championships in Kazan in 2015, a different priest from the one who had come before came to see us. Our former father always found the right words to charge us. And then another one came and said: “Girls, the main thing is not victory, but participation. » We had the feeling that the person did not watch our sport and did not understand what synchronized swimming means for Russia. If we simply participate, it will be a defeat, and a huge defeat. The condition was similar to that of those immersed in water. When we arrived in Kazan, Tatiana Nikolaevna specially arranged for us to meet again with the priest and we went to the camp. The priest had already directed us there,” Topilina told .