Olga Yrievna Kouznetsova

Olga Yrievna Kouznetsova passed away at her home in Concord, CA, on September 15, 2024 with her beloved daughter, Alexa Tchekmarev, and her devoted partner, Kim Probst, by her side. Olga bravely battled cancer for eight and a half years, and she fought for her life to the very last day, a testament to her will and desire to live life; a life of love and accomplishments that filled an Olympic sized pool and then some.
Olga grew up in Moscow, Russia where she excelled in all things athletic and artistic. She found her life's passion in the sport of synchronized swimming, where she was quickly identified as a star, training and competing for her country on the world stage. In order to provide for her family, at the age of 18, she made the decision to transition from athlete to coach and thus forgo training for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. That same year she married her loyal husband, Sergei Tchekmarev and together they built a life, training young athletes in hockey and synchronized swimming and raising their cherished, and of course, profoundly athletic daughter, Alexa.
The scope of the lives and athletic careers the pair impacted is truly unparalleled. From Moscow, to Michigan, to California and beyond, Olga and Sergei trained athletes for the Olympic Games, the NHL, The World Championships, The European Championships, The Pan American Games, for National Championships for more than a dozen countries, and multitudes of other world-class competitions. Coach Olga's athletes have gone on to compete for The Ohio State University, Stanford University, The University of Incarnate Word, Lindenwood University, and UCLA. Olga's girls and her daughter, Alexa, were even finalists in the country's most popular TV show, America's Got Talent, in 2013. Coach Olga trained champions for Club Trud in Moscow, founded the Troy Synchro Sharkettes in Troy, MI, alongside Erin O'Brien, lead age group teams and national teams alike in various countries, and for the past 15 years she has coached every single age group, from novice to elite with the Walnut Creek Aquanuts Synchronized Swimming Club (WCA) in Walnut Creek, California.
Aside from training champions, leading a star-studded team of coaches, maintaining lifelong friendships and mentoring numerous generations of parents, perhaps Olga's most significant contribution to her sport and her home club, WCA, has been their beloved annual water show that she choreographed, produced and directed each fall with her trusted side-kick and devoted partner in crime, Kim. The pair revolutionized this event into a beloved community affair complete with a jaw dropping stage, grandstands, professional sound & lighting, intricate costumes & props, and synchronized swimming performances incorporating 5-year-old novices up to professional athletes fresh off an Olympic performance; all combined with a heartwarming narrative, filled with drama, beauty, comedy and most of all LOVE. And thus was spawned the club's motto. "Show is Love, Show is Life." And so for Coach Olga & Coach Kim, Alexa and their dog Champion, the home they shared in Concord, California was always filled with glitter & rhinestones, stocked with rolls of tape and gallons of glue, lined with blue prints of stage designs, fabrics, paints, feathers & sequins, and always fueled by the soundtrack du jour being tuned, trimmed and perfectly edited into the background. And they wouldn't have it any other way.
Live and Love she certainly did. And without a doubt, Coach Olga will be missed by more than any one soul could ever imagine in their wildest dreams.
Olga is survived by her beautiful daughter, Alexa, her loving sister, Alla, and her unwavering partner Kim. She is preceded in death by faithful husband, Sergei.
The Funeral Service will be held at Lynch & Sons Funeral Home, 1368 N. Crooks, Clawson, Monday, September 23, 2024, at 11am. Friends may visit beginning at 10:30am. Reception to follow. Committal Services will take place Monday 3pm in St. Vladimir Cemetery, Dexter.