Svetlana Romashina, the five-time Olympic champion, says the ban is a ‘blow to the reputation of clean athletes’
The five-times Olympic gold medallist Svetlana Romashina was in the pool when she received the news that
Russia had been slapped with a four-year ban from major sporting events, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Even during practice, Romashina said, she and a teammate on Russia’s synchronised swimming national team spent Monday refreshing news feeds as they waited for the bombshell they knew was coming. Her first reaction was “shock”.