Team GB’s first male artistic swimmer is thoroughly satisfied to have earned the respect of friends who once asked why he did not just play football like everyone else.
Ranjuo Tomblin is one of 12 British artistic swimmers hoping to top the podium at the European Games this week in Krakow, but the 17-year-old knows he will be making history no matter what the result.
When he and Beatrice Crass slip into the pool for Thursday’s mixed duet technical event, Tomblin will also be making his milestone senior debut with Team GB.
“Definitely my friends at the start were like, ‘Oh, why are you doing that? Why aren’t you doing football, you know, the generic sports?'” he said.
“But as I’ve grown and developed and I’ve got a few medals in the bank, they definitely more respect what I do, now they’re like, ‘Oh, that’s a really cool thing you do’.”
Tomblin’s ambitions to erase stigma and stereotype around his chosen sport, once known as synchronised swimming, extend well beyond his circle of friends.
Artistic swimming is, like a duck gliding smoothly across a lake, an illusion of effortlessness when in reality it is anything but. Asked about the biggest misconception people hold, Tomblin’s answer comes immediately.
“That it is easy,” he said. “It’s not easy. A lot of people just think it’s having a play about in the water. It’s really not.”
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Training comprises working on everything from strength and conditioning to flexibility, knee extensions, toe points, breath-holding, swimming, stamina and timing.
Consider the feeling of, as American synchro coach Joyce Lindeman once put it, “running a marathon while holding your breath”.
Also it is set to music, and you are judged on how good you look doing it.
Tomblin spent nearly a decade in gymnastics and it was only by fluke that the woman coaching his “normal” swimming lessons at Atlantis Flamingos also happened to be the synchro coach.
Hearing about his gymnastics background, she asked if he wanted to give artistic swimming a go.
“I immediately loved it. It’s really grown from there,” said Tomblin, though he admits there was an adjustment period, adding: “It definitely did feel a bit weird, especially with the first team I joined.
“There were no boys, it was full of girls and it was a bit awkward and it was hard to make friends, but I feel like after I joined the national squad everyone’s really lovely. We’re all good friends.”
A landmark December 2022 World Aquatics decision paved the way for male artistic swimmers to compete at next summer’s Paris Olympics, which will now allow up to two men in the eight-athlete team event.
Tomblin won silver at the inaugural male free solo event at the 2022 LEN European Junior Championships as well as bronze alongside Cass and, while he is certainly open to the possibility of the team event, mixed duet – appearing for the first time at a European Games – is Tomblin’s speciality.
Mixed duet is not on the programme for Paris, but December’s announcement allowed Tomblin to be cautiously optimistic that his event could feature at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
“When I first heard that, I felt really excited and hopeful,” he said. “Because now they’re like, ‘Oh there’s loads of boys so let’s let them in the Olympics’… then hopefully that will lead towards the mixed duet going into the Olympic Games.”
While records will fall and champions change, there can only ever be one person who does something first, and Tomblin is delighted by the role he could play in ensuring he will not be the last.
“It would mean so much to me,” he added. “I’m working so hard because I’ve seen males older than me, like (Team USA’s) Bill May. I look up to him and he inspires me so much. I’d like to inspire someone – that would feel really nice for me.”
Raducanu raring to go in 2025 as she takes pride in 'unheard of' achievement
Emma Raducanu is already excited to get going in 2025 after reflecting positively on the past 12 months.
The 22-year-old impressed for Great Britain in their Billie Jean King Cup victories over Germany and Canada last week.
Raducanu has struggled with regular injury issues since her remarkable 2021 US Open triumph, but she believes some perspective is needed.
"My assessment is, I think sometimes I need reminding," she told the WTA's official website of her 2024 campaign.
"I'm top 60 in the world and I have played less than 15 events, which is pretty unheard of, in a way.
"I have to pat myself on the back for that. I know I'm a dangerous player. I know no-one wants to pull my name in the draw.
"I take pride in that, and I'm looking forward to hopefully staying on court longer next year."
Raducanu, ranked number 58 in the world, is returning to action in Malaga after two months out with a foot injury.
She will have a part to play when Britain take on Slovenia in Wednesday's semi-finals as she looks to extend her season further.
And a bullish Raducanu intends to work hard on the court heading into the New Year, with the Australian Open fast approaching.
"I think traditionally you'd probably have a bit of a break and take a holiday or something," Raducanu said.
"But I feel like I have had four, five weeks off tennis, and I don't really need any more time off.
"If anything, I'm excited and just itching to get on the practice court, and of course seeing some of my performances this week, it just incentivises me to do more work.
"I'm really pleased with how I've fought and how I'm faring up against these top girls. I feel like I'm in a pretty good spot with my tennis right now."
Dylan Carter headlines T&T's team to World Short Course Championships
Trinidad and Tobago’s ace swimmer Dylan Carter headlines a three-member team that will represent the Twin Island Republic at the World Aquatics World Short Course (25m) Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
The six-day event, scheduled for December 10–15, promises exciting prospects for aquatics enthusiasts as it will feature morning heats and evening semi-finals and finals.
Carter will enter the championship in rich form following his fairly successful World Aquatics Swimming World Cup outing recently, where he pocketed two gold medals and one bronze during the three-leg competition.
The decorated 28-year-old, who is a many-time World Short Course medallist and Olympian, is scheduled to swim the men’s 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, and 50m butterfly.
He will be joined by rising sensation Nikoli Blackman, who is currently in his sophomore year at the University of Tennessee. Blackman, a talented and versatile swimmer, will only contest the men’s 200m freestyle event.
Meanwhile, Zuri Ferguson, who paraded her skills at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, is the lone female member of the team. The University of Florida freshman will be targeting at least best times in the women’s 50m, 100m, and 200m backstroke events.
Another female swimmer, Ornella Walker, who recently shattered Trinidad and Tobago’s 50m and 100m backstroke records, also qualified to make the team but opted not to take up her spot on this occasion.
T&T's Dylan Carter cops gold in men's 50m freestyle at Swimming World Cup
Trinidad and Tobago’s ace swimmer Dylan Carter secured his second gold of the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup Series as he produced a breathtaking performance to land win the men’s 50-metre freestyle in Singapore on Thursday.
Carter, a three-time Olympian, won the event in a brisk 20.82 seconds and left the field in his wake as he was the only swimmer under the 21-second barrier in the final. He won ahead of Australia’s Isaac Cooper (21.01s) and Germany’s Marius Kusch (21.04s).
The 28-year-old Carter is expected to line up in the heats of the men’s 50m backstroke and 100m freestyle on Thursday’s evening session before bringing the curtains down on his campaign in the men’s 50m butterfly on Friday.
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