We caught up with Ranjuo Tomblin in Somabay, Egypt, after he won silver in the Men’s Solo Technical and placed fifth in the Mixed Duet Technical at the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup 2025 – Stop 2.

World Aquatics: How do you feel in Egypt? Are you happy with your performance?

Ranjuo: I'm quite happy with my performances. Obviously, the weather wasn't the ideal condition, but it's all part of the learning experience. We have just got to carry on.

World Aquatics: What was your strategy for this World Cup in Somabay, especially after winning two gold medals for your first time in the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup 2025 - Stop 1 in Paris, France?

Ranjuo: My strategy was to do the same swim as Paris World Cup in my Solo Technical routine to gain more confidence and experience for later competitions in the season, I am happy with the silver medal and the lessons learned. Regarding the Mixed Duet Technical, I swam with two different partners this year, so we are switching to see who's best fit for which routine. I'm really glad we came here

World Aquatics: You are a World Aquatics scholarship athlete. How has that scholarship helped you improve?

Ranjuo: I would say it's a huge honour. First of all, coming from a country that isn't funded much in this sport, it's definitely a massive help. We are using it for choreographies with our coach Stephania Speroni, because she lives in Italy. All the training camps; we get to go to Italy. Additionally, we worked with the Italian four-time World Championships gold medallist Giorgio Minisini earlier this year, so that was a huge honour. So, having that World Aquatics scholarship money is really helping us reaching those opportunities that we wouldn't usually get.”

World Aquatics: Speaking of training, what does your training strategy look like as part of the scholarship programme?

Ranjuo: It’s usually at the beginning of the season; we would have a camp in Italy to get the choreography, get the base done. Then, during the season, if we see, this bit's a bit hard, this bit's a bit easy, we bring back the choreographer or we go back to Italy and we would refine the routines, make sure we have got every detail nailed down.

World Aquatics: Do you think the World Aquatics scholarship is helping promote male participation in the sport?

Ranjuo: I would definitely say it's really effective. It is nice that World Aquatics is noticing the males in artistic swimming, allowing us to have those opportunities to help us excel in our sport and not just focusing on the traditional female ones. So, it brings the males up as well in the sport.

World Aquatics: Looking ahead, how do you see your career progressing? You’re still young and have this great opportunity through the scholarship programme. Where do you hope to go from here?

Ranjuo: My goal for this season is medaling in the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore but my long-term goal is the LA 2028 Olympics. Obviously, the disappointing news of not including the mixed duet in the LA 2028 Olympics is quite upsetting, but there are other opportunities to get to the Olympics. So, I think I'm just going to focus on myself right now. Focus on improving each season, and then we will see if anything changes or see where the sport will go for the males.

World Aquatics: Finally, do you have any advice for athletes considering the World Aquatics Scholarship Programme who might want to follow in your footsteps?   

Ranjuo: I would definitely say go for it. It's an opportunity that you don't always get. It's really good for everyone involved.

Want to Know More? | World Aquatics Scholarship Programme

Since its launch in 2014, the World Aquatics Scholarship Programme has provided financial and technical support to talented yet under-resourced aquatic athletes like Ranjuo Tomblin and fellow Team GB teammate Isabelle Thorpe. Now in its 11th year, the programme currently supports 50 swimmers, 15 open water swimmers, 8 divers, 7 artistic swimming duets, and, for the first time, 6 water polo players.

Find out more about World Aquatics Scholarships here.