Shurochkina wins second Olympic team gold in synchronised swimming in Tokyo

On 7 August 2021, Maria Shurochkina won the team event in synchronised swimming (now officially called artistic swimming) at the Tokyo Olympics. It was her second Olympic gold in the discipline, following the team title at the 2016 Rio Games.

Shurochkina competed under the flag of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). Russian athletes took part in Tokyo under that name rather than as Russia, because of sanctions linked to the country's doping violations. Russia's synchronised swimmers, who had dominated the sport for years, again finished at the top of the team podium.

The victory cemented Shurochkina's place among the leading Russian swimmers of her generation and added to the long run of Russian wins in the event. Her Olympic titles are the reason her later life, including the news of her injuries in a Moscow apartment fire, drew wide public attention in Russia.