In the pink: Russian swim star Efimova poses in pool with flamingo as she soaks up California sun (PHOTOS)

Russian world breaststroke champion Yulia Efimova looked pretty in pink as she delighted fans with a pool picture with a flamingo - even though the swimmer suggested lockdown had meant she was not in her usual svelte shape.

Like athletes the world over, Efimova has found herself out of action in recent months due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The Russian six-time world champ has remained largely confined to her base just outside Los Angeles, but has at least had use of a pool on the premises.

The double Olympic silver medalist recently teased her more than 200,000 Instagram followers by revealing that she often slips straight out of bed and into the water for a dip to start the day. 

And in her latest post to her growing legion of online admirers, the 28-year-old Efimova looked a picture in pink as she posed with a giant blow-up flamingo.   

While the tanned Efimova lapped up the sun, fans were envious of her floating aid.

"Lucky flamingo," read several replies to the post.

"Delightful," read another response, while numerous others simply settled for flame emojis.   

Adding a few pounds in lockdown will be a familiar problem for many around the world - and even though she looked typically svelte to the vast majority of observers, Efimova herself suggested on her Instagram Stories that "quarantine didn't pass unnoticed" - adding a pig emoji. 

Efimova has still managed to put in some work during lockdown, sharing one viral routine in which she 'swam' while suspended from a kitchen table. 

Before the Covid-19 pandemic struck the Grozny-born swimmer was gearing up for the Tokyo 2020 Games, where she was hoping to add to her tally of three Olympic medals - two silvers from the 2016 Rio Games and one bronze from London in 2012.

After those plans were disrupted with the postponement of the Tokyo Games until next summer, Efimova said she was still targeting the event but beyond that was unsure of her swimming future.

"The main thing for me now is to keep swimming until Tokyo. I was planning for the Games being this year and keeping in shape," she told Russia's Match TV. 

"I don't know if there's a chance that I'll continue after Toyko."

Efimova may have missed making a splash in the pool, but her viral lockdown routines and bikini posts have seen her social media popularity continue to rise.

The swimmer revealed during an interview back in April that she had attracted some high-profile admirers.

"I don't want to give away any secrets," she initially said when asked about the famous figures who had contacted her online. 

"A lot of hockey players, tennis players, footballers as well... not from Russian clubs – Juventus, perhaps – and from athletics."

After her latest posts, that following is likely to continue to head sharply upwards.