Sweden's Abu Nijmeh: “Swimming is freedom, medals come from diving, artistic swimming is about the group'

Tatiana Abu Nijmeh's name appears on the start lists for swimming, diving and artistic swimming. It is not an error in the system, the 57-year-old Swede has actually entered three of the five disciplines of the European Masters Aquatics Championships programme in Rome.

What are the feelings coming from these three sports?

"Swimming for me is the link to youth, I feel free in the water. Thanks to diving I have a better chance of getting medals and it is a great way to meet my teammates. I chose artistic swimming to train in a group, it is the most social sport. It is also the most demanding sport: I am not very aesthetic and it is really difficult to breathe underwater, cramps occur almost every training session.”

Why did you decide to do swimming, diving and artistic swimming?

“I started with swimming first, ever since I was a girl. Then, when I had children, I didn't want them to be afraid of heights, so I let them start a diving course. Seeing them train, I liked the sport and I also started in 2004, when I was about 39 years old. I missed swimming and started again when I was 41. Since then I have mixed them. In 2019 I also started artistic swimming.”

How do you combine all these sports in your training?

“Before Covid, I trained about five times a week: two days were dedicated to artistic swimming, two to diving and one to swimming. With the beginning of the pandemics I stopped. In the last year I have started again: mostly in the evenings, as I can work in smart working and no longer have to wake up early. For the autumn I plan to dedicate one day of the week to diving, one to swimming and two to artistic swimming. When competitions are approaching, I dedicate my training to the sport I consider most necessary.”

What does it mean to participate in the masters?

“Competing for me means seeing new cities and countries. I like preparing for competitions and I love winning medals. I never fear my opponents, in fact I don't like it when I don't have a strong opponent to compete against.”

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