Alexandri triplets

On the road to Olympic revenge with an import from Japan

Anna-Maria and Eirini-Marina Alexandri

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

It took them a long time to come to terms with the frustration of the Olympics, but now it's done. The Alexandri sisters Anna-Maria, Eirini-Marina and Vasiliki will continue their career in synchronized swimming and have their sights set on a medal in Los Angeles 2028. To this end, they have joined forces with top Japanese coach Takako Nakajima.

Injuries, huge disappointment at narrowly missing out on an Olympic medal and the departure of coach Albena Mladenova, who took her well-deserved retirement - five tough months lie behind the Alexandri sisters, who had speculated about ending their careers. Finding new motivation for four more years of immensely demanding and exhausting training was not easy. 

"It was a very difficult situation. We had no training plan and had to come up with everything ourselves for five months. The training in the water and also the strength units. It was a difficult time mentally," explained the sisters. 

Vasiliki Alexandri became European champion in individual synchronized swimming in 2024.

(Bild: GEPA)

Anna-Maria also suffered a dislocation of her right shoulder and Eirini had surgery on her left shoulder. But in the end, they also realized: "We're not too old to still be able to perform at the top level." The trio set about looking for a new coach and managed to get a prominent name on board: Takako Nakajima.

Japanese national coach
The 38-year-old Japanese swimmer won several medals as an active synchronized swimmer at the 2005 and 2007 World Championships and was head coach of the Japanese national team from 2021 to 2024. The triplets are fully motivated: "She believes in us and has big goals, just like us. The language will certainly not be a problem. Not with English anyway and we work a lot with body language in our sport. Takako is also doing an intensive German course. It won't be easy, but it will work."

The first major joint goal will be the World Championships in Singapore in the summer. Until then, it is important to work on new elements, also with regard to the scoring system, which was recently adapted once again. "There's not much time. It's tight, but we think it will be enough." The big overall goal is the 2028 Olympics anyway.