“I am thrilled to welcome Elvira to the Stanford synchro family,” said Azebu following the hire. “Her athletic achievements within the sport are tremendous and her coaching experience with the U.S. National Team will allow her to bring a wealth of experience to the table.”
Khasianova captured gold in 2004, 2008 and 2012. She also claimed World Championships in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2011, adding European titles in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2010.
Khasianova came to The Farm after spending the previous three years coaching with the U.S. National Team. She worked with the senior and junior squads, traveling to major competitions in China, Japan, Canada and the U.S. as part of the FINA World Series for Artistic Swimming. Khasianova also coached at the 2019 Junior Worlds in Hungary during that summer.
In 2019, Khasianova helped Stanford finish second in the Collegiate National Championships and is heavily involved with recruiting. The Cardinal produced six All-Americans and 11 student-athletes earned USA Synchro Academic Honors in 2019.
Khasianova helped lead the Cardinal to a first-place finish at the 2020 Western Regionals before the Collegiate National Championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Most recently, Khasianova helped guide Stanford to the 2021 USA Artistic Swimming Collegiate National title as the Cardinal swept all events en route to the title. Hosting the U.S. Collegiate Nationals at Avery Aquatic Center for the first time since 2013, Stanford delivered impressive performances across the board over a two-day stretch on The Farm, finishing with 102.0000 points. Jacklyn Luu, who would ultimately be named Athlete of the Year and High Point Athlete, won the solo and A Figures Technical competition. Hailee Heinrich, Audrey Nguyen and Caitlin Klauer earned the trio title, while Luu and Emmanuella Tchakmakjian captured the duet crown. The Cardinal proceeded to make it a clean sweep with a victory in the team final, as Grace Alwan, Heinrich, Ava Jih-Schiff, Klauer, Luu, Nguyen, Alexandra Suarez and Tchakmakjian posted an 83.6000.
In 2023, Khasianova helped lead the Cardinal to two event wins at the U.S. Collegiate Nationals in the trip and the team competitions. Along with the national titles, Stanford had seven student-athletes named as Collegiate All-Americans, and earned a second consecutive MPSF title, sweeping all the conference events.
In 2024, Khasianova helped lead the Cardinal to its third-consecutive MPSF Championship before another podium finish at Collegiate Nationals as Stanford took second place. At MPSF Championships , Stanford claimed three event crowns including those in Tech A Elements, Duet and Trio performance. At Collegiate Nationals, Stanford claimed the team event title with Miko Begossi, Elisa Brunel, Ivy Davis, Yara Elian, Nicole Goot, Ella Rau, Lindi Schroeder and Emmanuella Tchakmakjian claiming the title and eventually being named All-Americans. The Cardinal also claimed seven All-MPSF honors while Tchakmakjian was named the USA Artistic Swimming Collegiate Athlete of the Year.
In 2025, Khasianova and the Cardinal reclaimed its top spot in collegiate artistic swimming, claiming three event titles en route to the program’s 10th national championship title and the first since the 2021 season. Along the way, Stanford claimed its fourth MPSF title - keeping its stronghold on the conference as its only champion in its short history. At MPSF’s, the Cardinal earned a clean sweep across the two-day competition with freshmen Megumi Field and Dalia Ovadia claiming a stake in three of the four multi-athlete events. Field was named MPSF Rookie- and Swimmer of the Meet following her four event titles while breaking the MPSF individual points record, having tallied 96 of Stanford’s eventual 102 points during the meet. At Collegiate Nationals, Khasianova helped Stanford to glory as the Cardinal earned 94 points with its three event crowns. Stanford had six athletes earn All-American honors at Nationals while Ovadia and freshman Calista Liu were named USAAS Varsity DI All-Collegiate. The Cardinal also had three swimmers on the All-MPSF list, all of which being placed on the first team.