“Sometimes people say it’s a sport just for girls, but it’s not and I’m proud to be showing that men and boys can be artistic swimmers too.”
Ranjuo Tomblin is just 15, but on Thursday he made history by becoming the first man to compete in an international artistic swimming competition for Great Britain.
He and 18-year-old partner Rosie Rallings placed fifth in the mixed duet technical final at the European Junior Championships in Malta, just over two months after training together for the first time.
“I was a bit nervous for my first international competition, but I feel like I’ve accomplished something and I’m proud of what I’m doing,” he told BBC Sport.
Tomblin was a competitive swimmer who specialised in the 50m butterfly, but he was encouraged to try out artistic swimming in 2018 after a coach learned of his background in gymnastics.
He needed little persuasion.
“I remember waiting for competitive swim races and training sessions and I’d see all the girls doing their routine and I was like ‘oh my God, that looks amazing’,” he recalls.
“It’s one of the toughest sports out there because you need to have good cardio, strength, flexibility and be able to hold your breath while doing all that in the water.
“It’s so rewarding, though, and when people discover how difficult it is, they begin to appreciate it.”
Tomblin, who trains with Atlantis Flamingos in Rusmoor, was fast-tracked into the British set-up after being included in Swim England’s Artistic Swimming Talent Pathway programme last year.
He is coached by London 2012 Olympian Katie Chapman and hopes to compete at a Games himself one day.
Artistic swimming, formerly known as synchronised swimming, included men for the first time at a major event in 2015 at the Fina World Aquatics Championships in Russia.
Although Fina – the sport’s international governing body – requested the addition of mixed events to the Olympic programme for Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, they were unsuccessful.
Participation numbers are rising though and there is growing optimism that the event will be included in the Los Angeles Games in 2028 – when Tomblin will be 22.
“I’m looking forward to watching Kate (Shortman) and Izzy (Thorpe) compete for GB in Tokyo, but it would be an absolute dream to swim at the Olympics myself one day,” he said.
