The name Angelika Timanina is not going to ring any bells in the United States, unless you pay attention to the sport of swimming.
Angelika won a gold medal in London, and over the course of her career has won the World Championships eight times and a seven-time winner of the European Championships.
Angelika, who is thirty and lives in Moscow, has turned to surfing and still has dreams of Olympic success.
Timanina told RT in a recent interview that she is still dreaming of making the Tokyo Games next year, since the coronavirus caused it to be canceled and moved to 2021.
I ended up at my first World Cup last year almost by accident, I went there as a reserve, Timanina said.
In the end I was selected for the national team in first place, despite the fact I was competing with people who had been surfing for 10 or even 20 years.
If it wasn’t for the coronavirus, it’s uncertain how everything would have turned out.
Of course I’d like to get to the Games. I’ve always dreamed of going to Japan, Timanina said.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral Olympics stories via Google! Follow Us
Aside from surfing and getting to the Olympics, Timanina is insanely popular online, garnering more than 115,000 followers on Instagram.
When I left the sport, I began a much more active public life and socially. I graduated from commentary courses at Ostankino [TV center in Moscow], hired a PR representative and set out to be recognized in Russia.
I wanted to become a media personality so I could make money from it. It worked. Now my main income is advertising shoots and Instagram.
Her insanely good looks has lead to people often asking her to strip nude for photoshoots.
Of course [I get asked to take my clothes off]. But my goal from the very beginning was different.
I wanted to become like the Maria Sharapova of synchronized swimming, cover the luxury sector, brands like Dior and Armani.
But luxury brands will never work with a girl who has done naked shoots for the cover of Playboy, Timanina said.
