Swedish swimming has a long list of household names including Sjostrom, Johansson and Alshammar, however a bright future awaits for a new name in a new discipline – Martinez.
David Martinez became Sweden’s first male athlete to compete at a senior level in Artistic Swimming at a World Aquatics Championships this week when he debuted in the Men’s Solo Technical on day one of competition at Doha 2024.
The sixteen year-old from the NK Neptun club in Stockholm placed ninth in the preliminaries with his debut swim and will head into the final on night four of competition as the third highest ranked European swimmer.
Speaking to World Aquatics after his performance Martinez said he was exhausted but pleased with his routine.
“I am very tired after that but I felt like I managed everything,” said Martinez, “I felt like I lost some control in some parts, but I managed everything that I had to.”
"Overall it’s a very difficult routine but hopefully it looked good.”
Martinez will be joined in the final by Fukuoka Men’s Solo Free champion Dennis Gonzalez Boneu from Spain, and it was in Spain that the then nine year-old Martinez was introduced to the sport.
A chance encounter with an Artistic Swimming competition being shown on local television sparked an interest for Martinez who then sought out a club to join back home. Six years later that chance encounter has now led to a debut World Aquatics Championships where he will swim alongside the best athletes in the world – including those from Artistic Swimming powerhouse Spain.
Martinez’s first senior international championships continued on day two and three in Doha with the Mixed Duet Technical preliminary and final, an event that was a full circle moment for the emerging star when he paired with his first coach in the sport, Sandra Freund.