Javier Enrique Ruisanchez Torres Zayas (born 8 February 1997) is a Puerto Rican artistic swimmer and former pool swimmer. He is a nine-time medalist at the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series, winning eight medals at the 2022 FINA Artistic Swimming World Series. At the

2022 World Aquatics Championships The 2022 World Aquatics Championships, the 19th edition of the FINA World Aquatics Championships, were held in Budapest, Hungary, from 17 June to 3 July 2022. In March 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, FINA banned both the Russian an ...

, he and his partner Nicolle Torrens became the first artistic swimmers representing Puerto Rico to qualify for, and compete in, a final of a mixed gender duet event at a FINA World Aquatics Championships, finishing eleventh in the mixed duet free routine and twelfth in the mixed duet technical routine.

Background

Ruisanchez was born 8 February 1997, in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

."Javier Enrique Ruisanchez Torres Zayas"
. '' FINA''. Retrieved 14 July 2022."2015–16 Men's Swimming and Diving Roster: Javier Ruisanchez"
. ''

Gannon University Gannon University is a private Catholic university in Erie, Pennsylvania. Gannon University has approximately 4,500 students and 46,000 alumni. Its intercollegiate athletics include 18 athletic programs for men and women competing at the NCAA Di ...

''. Retrieved 14 July 2022. He was raised in Puerto Rico and later moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, graduating from West Springfield High School in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

.Ruisanchez, Javier (8 July 2015)
"For gay high school swimmer, one tweet changed his life"
. ''

Outsports ''Outsports'' is a sports news website concerned with LGBT issues and personalities in amateur and professional sports. The company was founded in 1999 by Cyd Zeigler, Jr. and Jim Buzinski. ''The Outsports Revolution'' (Alyson Publications), by ...

''. Retrieved 14 July 2022. Growing up, he was a competitive pool swimmer, specializing in

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

, and individual medley events, and he later competed collegiately in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

for

. In 2021, he transitioned from pool swimming to artistic swimming, combining and channeling his dance experience in

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

and competition experience in pool swimming into one sport, in which he competes with partner Nicolle Torrens and is coached by Julia Toro.Orlando Rivera Martínez (20 June 2022)
"Duo de boricuas hace historia en nado sincronizado"
(in Spanish). ''

WAPA-TV WAPA-TV (channel 4) is a Spanish language in the United States, Spanish-language Independent station (North America), independent television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is owned by :es:Hemisphere Media Group, Hemisphere Media Group, w ...

''. Retrieved 14 July 2022.Narváez, Carlos (25 June 2022)
"A las finales de nado sincronizado en Hungría"
(in Spanish). ''

El Vocero ''El Vocero de Puerto Rico'' is a Puerto Rican free newspaper that is published in San Juan. Published since 1974, ''El Vocero'' was at first the third of the four largest Puerto Rico newspapers, trailing '' El Mundo'' and ''El Nuevo Día'' and ...

''. Retrieved 14 July 2022.

Career

2021 Artistic Swimming World Series

At the fourth leg of the 2021 FINA Artistic Swimming World Series, a virtual event hosted by

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in May, Ruisanchez and his partner in the mixed duet technical routine, Nicolle Torrens, won the bronze medal in the event, choreographing their routine to music by Lebanese musical artist Emad Sayyah in the theme of "Arabian Royalty"."ASWS in Canada (Virtual) Day 1: Russia wins 2 gold medals"
. '' FINA''. 29 May 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2022.

2022 Artistic Swimming World Series

On the first leg of the 2022 FINA Artistic Swimming World Series, a virtual format competition hosted by Canada and the

in March, he won two medals on the first of two days, the first was a bronze medal in the male solo technical routine with choreography in the theme of "Black Swan" and a score of 53.7147 points and the second was a bronze medal with partner Nicolle Torrens in the mixed duet technical routine with a score of 64.1346 points.Hennigan, Caoimhe (19 March 2022)
"Technical events feature during day one of the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series 2022 opener"
. '' FINA''. Retrieved 14 July 2022. The second of two days, he won an additional two medals, including the gold medal in the solo free routine, with a score of 60.2000 points and choreography to the song "

Fire on Fire "Fire on Fire" is a song by English singer Sam Smith, produced by Steve Mac. It was co-written by Smith and Mac for the 2018 Netflix adaptation of the 1972 novel ''Watership Down''. "Fire on Fire" was released as a single on 21 December 2018 thr ...

" by

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

musical artist

Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...

, and a bronze medal in the mixed duet free routine, scoring within 20 points of silver medalists Tomoka Sato and Yotaro Sato of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

.Hennigan, Caoimhe (20 March 2022)
"Creativity and composure on display during day two of the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series 2022 opener"
. '' FINA''. Retrieved 14 July 2022. The second leg of the World Series, which took place in April at Piscine Georges Vallerey in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, Ruisanchez won the bronze medal in the solo technical routine with a score of 65.6333 points and the silver medal in the solo free routine with a score of 60.8774 points.Croes, Maureen (2 April 2022)
"Creativity and youthful performances awarded during Day 2 of the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series in Paris"
. '' FINA''. Retrieved 14 July 2022. For the following leg, another virtual format event this time hosted by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

for the first time in early May, he won a bronze medal on day one in the solo technical routine with a score of 57.9860 points.Croes, Maureen (7 May 2022)
"FINA Artistic Swimming World Series for first time hosted virtualy by Australia"
. '' FINA''. Retrieved 14 July 2022. The next day, in the solo free routine, he scored within 15 points of gold medalist Gustavo Sánchez of

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

to win the silver medal with a final mark of 62.5333 points."USA top the medal table of the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series 2022"
. '' FINA''. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022. At the final leg of the World Series, called the Super Final and held in mid-May at Athens Olympic Sports Complex in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, Ruisanchez was the only

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

n athlete to qualify to compete.Vega, Giovanny (19 May 2022)
"El boricua Javier Ruisánchez dirá presente en la final de la Serie Mundial de Natación Artística"
(in Spanish). ''

''. Retrieved 14 July 2022. As part of competition, he placed fourth in both the solo technical routine and the solo free routine.Hiram Alberto Torraca (24 May 2022)
"Javier Ruisánchez celebra su gran actuación en la Serie Mundial de Natación Artística"
(in Spanish). ''

NotiCel ''NotiCel'' is an online newspaper that covers news related to Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=F ...

''. Retrieved 14 July 2022.

2022 World Aquatics Championships

Day two of artistic swimming competition at the

, held in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, Ruisanchez and his partner Nicolle Torrens scored 65.5330 points in the preliminaries of the mixed duet technical routine accomplishing a historic feat for

by becoming the first artistic swimmers representing the nation at a FINA World Aquatics Championships to qualify for the final of a mixed gender artistic swimming event with their eleventh-rank performance, which advanced them to the final of the event two days later on 20 June. FINA (18 June 2022)
"19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Mixed Duet Technical Preliminary Results"
. ''

Omega Timing Omega SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848, the company formerly operated as ''La Generale Watch Co.'' until incorporating the name ''Omega'' in 1903, becoming ' ...

''. Retrieved 14 July 2022.Sara Del Valle Hernández (21 June 2022)
"Nadadores boricuas compiten en los Campeonatos Mundiales en Hungría"
(in Spanish). ''

El Nuevo Día ''El Nuevo Día'' (English: ''The New Day'') is the newspaper with the largest circulation in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1909 in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and today it is a subsidiary of GFR Media. Its headquarters are in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. ...

''. Retrieved 14 July 2022. With a score of 65.8801 points in the final, they placed twelfth. FINA (20 June 2022)
"19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Mixed Duet Technical Final Results"
. ''

''. Retrieved 14 July 2022."Boricuas avanzan la final de nado sincronizado en Budapest 2022"
(in Spanish). '' Primera Hora''. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022. The eighth day, they achieved a mark of 66.4000 points in the preliminaries of the mixed duet free routine, which advanced them to their second final in eleventh-rank. FINA (24 June 2022)
"19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Mixed Duet Free Preliminary Results"
. ''

''. Retrieved 14 July 2022.Adami, Davide (24 June 2022)
"Nuoto artistico, Minisini e Ruggiero dominano nel preliminare del duo misto libero"
(in Italian). ''OA Sport''. Retrieved 14 July 2022. They finished with another historic feat for Puerto Rico, earning 65.7000 points in the final of the mixed duet free routine to place eleventh and mark the first time in history the nation had artistic swimmers place in the final of two artistic swimming events at a single World Aquatics Championships. FINA (25 June 2022)
"19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Mixed Duet Free Final Results"
. ''

''. Retrieved 14 July 2022.Marrero, Omar (26 June 2022)
"Atletas de natación artística se exponen a fuertes agotamientos, confirma el boricua Javier Ruisánchez"
(in Spanish). ''

''. Retrieved 14 July 2022.

2023 Artistic Swimming World Cup

In the mixed duet technical routine at the first stop of the inaugural Artistic Swimming World Cup, held in March 2023 in Markham, Canada, Ruisanchez achieved a final mark of 119.1250 points with his partner Nicolle Torrens, ranking seventh out of all competing duos and sixth out of all competing nations, Spain had two duos compete."World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup - Markham 2023: Results Mixed Duet Technical"
''

World Aquatics FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

''. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.

International championships

Artistic Swimming World Series circuits

The following medals Ruisanchez has won at Artistic Swimming World Series circuits."Javier Enrique Ruisanchez Torres Zayas: Medals"
. '' FINA''. Retrieved 14 July 2022.

Awards and honors

Puerto Rico Olympic Committee The Puerto Rico Olympic Committee (COPUR, es, Comité Olímpico de Puerto Rico) is the National Olympic Committee for Puerto Rico. It oversees Olympic-sports in Puerto Rico, and selects the Olympic team which represents the island. It was founde ...

, Federation Sporting Excellence (artistic swimming): 2022"A celebrar la excelencia deportiva del olimpismo del 2022"
(in Spanish). ''El Sol de Puerto Rico''. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.

Personal life

Ruisanchez came out publicly as gay in October 2013 via social media platform

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

during high school when he was 16 years old.Hernandez, Greg (8 July 2015)
"Swimmer on how life has changed since he sent out this tweet: 'Yes… I AM GAY… Who cares?'"
. '' Gay Star News''. Retrieved 14 July 2022. On 8 August 2021, he married his husband, former collegiate

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player Michael Dumaine, in Puerto Rico, the wedding was postponed from its original date due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

.Wax, Shelby (1 December 2021)
"Exclusive: Michael Dumaine and Javier Ruisanchez's Elegant and Tropical Wedding in Puerto Rico"
. ''

Brides A bride is a woman who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bride's future spouse, (if male) is usually referred to as the ''bridegroom'' or just ''groom''. In Western culture, a bride may be attended by a maid, brides ...

''. Retrieved 14 July 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruisanchez, Javier 1997 births Living people Sportspeople from San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican male swimmers Puerto Rican synchronized swimmers Male synchronized swimmers Puerto Rican gay men Puerto Rican LGBT sportspeople Gay sportsmen LGBT swimmers

Background

Career

2021 Artistic Swimming World Series

2022 Artistic Swimming World Series

2022 World Aquatics Championships

2023 Artistic Swimming World Cup

International championships

Artistic Swimming World Series circuits

Awards and honors

Personal life

See also

References

External links