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Participating in her fourth Summer Games, Romashina, 31, has
topped the podium in the duet competition at three successive
Games, winning the Tokyo title on Wednesday representing the
Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).
Russian athletes are competing under the ROC flag at the Tokyo
Olympics as part of sanctions for several doping scandals.
If she tops the podium in the team competition, which begins on
Friday with the technical event, it will be for the fourth
straight Games, a golden run since Beijing 2008.
"The training is done," she wrote on Instagram on Thursday.
"Tomorrow, we go out to fight as a team."
Romashina on Wednesday won a record sixth gold but shrugged off
her achievement, focusing instead on her work with partner
Svetlana Kolesnichenko, who she says feels like her younger
sister. It was her first gold in the duet with Kolesnichenko.
"I don't think about that it's the sixth medal," Romashina, who
also holds 21 world titles, told reporters.
"I just think about our work we have done. And of course we are
very happy. I think that we are proud of our work of our team.
"For me it was a great pleasure to work with Svetlana."
Born in Moscow, Romashina at first did both dance and swimming,
opting for swimming because she reportedly preferred to work
alone.
She began training in artistic swimming at age six and quickly
made her mark, winning gold in team competition at the world
championships at 15.
A brief break from competitive swimming and a foray into
coaching after Rio 2016 segued into pregnancy and the birth of
her daughter, Alexandra, in 2017. She resumed training in 2018.
On Monday, she spoke of how difficult it was to be away from her
daughter, and trying to balance her personal and competitive
lives.
"I'm trying not to cry because I haven't seen her two or three
weeks. It's very difficult because I miss her so much and, you
know, it's very difficult to be an athlete, and to be a mother,"
she said.
"But I think that she makes me stronger."
Romashina, who said she wants to coach, promote synchronised
swimming and have a second child, does not appear tempted by
thoughts of competing in Paris in 2024.
"Tokyo will be my fourth Games, and I pretty well realise that
they should be the last one in my athlete's career," she said.
"It's very likely to be my final performance. My family is
waiting for me."
(Additional reporting by Mayu Sakoda; Editing by Peter
Rutherford)
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