Russian Olympic swimming legend leaves country – media
Five-time Olympic champion Anastasia Davydova has left Russia and has notified staff at her swimming center that she has “no plans to return,” according to reports.
Davydova, 39, is among the most successful synchronized swimmers of all time.
She won double gold at both the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Games, before winning another title in London in 2012. Davydova is also a 13-time world champion.
Following her retirement, Davydova founded the Anastasia Davydova Olympic Synchronized Swimming Center in Moscow and was appointed secretary general of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).
According to TASS, Davydova informed the staff of her swimming center on Monday that she had left the country.
“Yesterday, the staff of our center received a letter from Anastasia Semyonovna [Davydova] by email, in which she announced her departure from Russia,” the organization was quoted as saying.
“She did not name the reasons for her decision, she only noted that she did not plan to return.”
Responding to the claims, the ROC said it could not confirm information about the departure of Davydova or members of her family.
“There have been no formal resignations from the secretary general to the ROC,” read a Telegram message from the organization.
“The ROC apparatus is working in an enhanced mode, the operational efficiency of the organization does not depend on the personal situation of the secretary general.
“If necessary, relevant decisions will be made in accordance with the Charter of the Russian Olympic Committee and solely on the basis of verified data,” the message added.
Davydova’s haul of five Olympic gold medals puts her joint-second on the sport’s all-time list, and is only bettered by compatriot Svetlana Romashina.
Romashina took her overall tally to seven Olympic gold medals with a double triumph at the 2020 Tokyo Games last summer.
