It’s a small revolution. For the first time in the history of artistic swimming (formerly known as synchronized swimming), the men’s solo event will be on the program of the world championships, the next edition of which will be held from July 14 to 30 in Fukuoka, Japan. Cocorico, among the contenders for the podium, the Frenchman Quentin Rakotomalala, 20, bronze medalist in the free solo at the European championships last year – the first major competition with an all-male event – and a pioneer in artistic swimming for men In France.
It has been more than ten years now since the young man started the practice, inspired by his sister. “I attended his competitions and his galas… I was fascinated,” he recalls. I was racing swimming and training at the same time, but I was much more intrigued by what she was doing than what was going on in my lane. A coach noticed it and suggested I try it, I was hooked right away. »
Outside the pool, however, the young swimmer had to adapt: ”I wasn’t shouting it from the rooftops! In college, everyone thought I was doing “classic” swimming. I tried to talk about it once thinking it was normal, that’s when I got some teasing. I stopped saying it. I avoided a lot of nastiness by remaining discreet. »
It was a little more complicated for Peterson Céüs, 24, one of the first boys to practice rhythmic gymnastics in France and one of the few to handle ribbons and hoops at national level. While artistic swimming is gradually opening up – mixed pairs made their appearance at the 2015 Worlds – the “GR” is still prohibited for boys internationally today. Some see there the influence of Russia, the flagship nation of the discipline and fierce opponent of the arrival of men.
Neither more nor less than discrimination for Peterson who created the Association for the Defense of Gender Equality in Rhythmic Gymnastics (GR-ADE) and who went before the Council of State to try to get things moving . In vain: “The federal technical regulations stipulate that “boys are authorized to participate in competitions”, the Federation therefore does not discriminate according to the Council of State. But this little sentence clearly shows the disparities in treatment between men and women in this sport. »
He fell in love with the discipline when he saw a video on the Internet, he was around ten years old. Since then, the passion has never left him, despite the judgments, the mockery and the insults. “It was no longer the children who made fun of me, like at school, but the parents,” he says, a little wearily. So many things happened, but my passion for this sport was always stronger than the way people judged me. Beyond these reproachful glances, the young man especially had difficulty supporting the cruel lack of recognition, obliged to practice in “leisure” in spite of his ambitions and his results.
His wish today? That boys have the same possibilities, the same opportunities as girls. A legitimate claim finally, widely shared by the artistic swimming champion: “I simply want to live my passion and make everyone understand that it is possible if we give ourselves the means. There is no sport attributed to one gender or another, it is a discipline that can be practiced by all, I am proof of that. Especially since on the side of artistic swimming, mentalities are changing. The International Federation has thus announced the inclusion of men in the ballet teams for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, a first in the history of the Olympic Games. Not yet a 100% men’s event, but a big step for the discipline.