[2] She is a member of the Penza Army Sports Club, and is trained by her long-time coach and mentor Natalia Kozlova.

She eclipsed a FINA B-standard entry time of 4:14.41 from the Russian Championships in Moscow.

[3] She challenged seven other swimmers on the fourth heat, including top medal favorites Otylia Jędrzejczak of Poland and Kaitlin Sandeno of the United States.

She rounded out the field to last place by a 5.21-second margin behind Spain's Erika Villaécija García in 4:18.24.

[4][5] Four months after the Olympics, Parshina earned a silver medal in the same program at the 2004 European Short Course Swimming Championships in Vienna, Austria.