The chances of the Russian synchronised swimming coaches being thrown into the pool at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games appear to be very high. The nation has won every Olympic gold medal in the sport since the Sydney 2000 Games, and each time they climb the podium, there is another ritual to be followed.

“Whenever we win a competition, we throw our coaches into the pool,” three-time Olympic champion Svetlana Romashina told rio2016.com. “They even try to run away, but they always end up in the water.”

Romashina, 25, is one of the leading lights in a team that dominates its sport perhaps unlike any other. At London 2012 she added the team and duet gold medals to the team title she had claimed at Beijing 2008.

The Rio 2016 synchronised swimming competitions will take place at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre, in Barra Olympic Park, where some of her colleagues trained in January. Romashina has urged fans to come along and witness a sport is different to most. (Click here to sign up for ticket news).

Unbeaten since Sydney 2000, the Russian team has won eight consecutive gold medals (Photo Clive Rose/Getty Images)

“I’m sure that the Olympic Games will be a big attraction for Brazilians, even for sports that are not so popular,” she said. “And of course I recommend synchronised swimming – it’s a very eye-catching sport with beautiful performances. It’s really almost a show.

“So please, put your body and soul into cheering for your country and your athletes. We always hear you and feel your enthusiasm. It helps us a lot.”

Svetlana has also won 15 world championship gold medals and seven European titles. Such a record suggests all her time would be taken up with synchronised swimming, but she is also passionate about another sport.

“Sailing is my latest hobby,” she said. “I began practising in 2012 and since then even my swimming coach, Tatiana Danchenko, has started sailing with me. We are both in love with sailing and whenever we have a break in our schedule, we take to the open sea.”