Dads of synchronised swimmers tried their hands at the female-dominated sport for Father’s Day at the Piscine Gilbert Bozon in Tours on Sunday.

What started out as a joke from their daughter’s synchronised swimming teacher turned into six months of intense training, during which these motivated dads were determined to deliver a ‘synchronised swimming gala’.

Jeanne Chebassier, the teacher, said that “they are highly motivated students. And a motivated dad was a daddy selected to be part of the ‘swimming dads’ group.”

The dads’ synchronised swimming performance, which defied gender stereotypes, was a hit with the audience.

One of the dads, Mathieu, said: “It’s very, very hard. I can swim but doing synchronised swimming is very, very difficult.(…)The girls have merit, it’s amazing. They do more than a minute or two without breathing perhaps more while doing a ballet, on ballets from four to five minutes. It’s very impressive!”

Julien, another dad, said the end result was worth the effort to see their daughters smile: “We are not great gymnasts, so doing splits is a bit complicated in the water. But we simply do it for the kids, and when our girls see their dads from the audience, just seeing them happy is enough for us.”