Olga Kuzhela
COACH
Competitive Program: 11-12
Olga Kuzhela had a distinguished career as a synchronized swimmer before deciding to share her love for the sport with young swimmers. As a swimmer, she was a member of the Russian National Team from 2002 to 2011. During her time on the National Team, she won Olympic Gold, Five Golds at the World Championships and Four Golds at the European World Championships.
In 2009, Olga founded a synchronized swimming school in St. Petersburg, the Kuzhela Synchro Club, so she could foster swimmers’ in her coaching philosophy. At the same time she worked as the Head coach for “Nevskaya Volna”, the Sport Centre of Water Sports in St. Petersburg, Russia. She has also worked with clubs in the Netherlands and Italy.
Many of her swimmers consistently place 1-4th in Russian and International competitions. Three of her athletes are now in Russian National Junior Team.
In 2018, Olga joined the coaching staff of Santa Clara Aquamaids, where she aims to share her extraordinary knowledge of the Russian School of Artistic Swimming formally known as Synchronized Swimming.
Career Highlights
- Member of Russian National Team of Artistic Swimming formally known as Synchronized Swimming 2002-2011
- Honored Master of Sports of Russia, 2005
- Olympic Gold Champion, Beijing, China, 2008
- Five-time Gold World Champion in Technical & Free Team Routines from Montreal, Canada (2005) and Melbourne, Australia (2007)
- Four-time European Champion in Technical and Free Routines from Budapest, Hungary, 2006 and 2010