He was once one of Southland’s top young swimmers but these days you are more likely to see Jacob Blomfield treading the boards than treading water.

In fact, the former James Hargest College student is excited to be coming home to perform the role of Sky in the Invercargill Musical Theatre’s season of Mama Mia which gets underway at the Civic Theatre on July 12.

“I’m stoked. The last time I was on the Civic stage would have been doing something like the Big Sing with James Hargest in Year 7 or 8. That was way before I’d taken a head first dive into the theatre. It’s really cool to come back to that, and Invercargill is so supportive of these shows.”

Blomfield was a talented freestyle swimmer throughout his high school years.

Encouraged by a friend to join the Murihiku Swimming Club’s Friday night swim sessions at Splash Palace when he was 10 or 11, Blomfield quickly took to competitive swimming. 

Coached by Jeremy Duncan and Lisa Pankhurst, he won nearly 20 medals at national events, including what turned out to be the highlight of his swimming career so far - a bronze medal in the open men’s 1500m freestyle at what was essentially the Olympic trial in 2021.

Jacob Blomfield in his swimming days. Photo: Supplied

He was also a member of SBS Bank Academy Southland’s two-year athlete programme, which provides promising young athletes with a strong grounding in aspects of performance including strength and conditioning, nutrition, mental skills and athlete life.

Performing out of the water has always been a passion, however.

Blomfield had a dance background - something he believes helped his steady development in the pool - that included hip hop, rock n roll and tap before he got into swimming. During high school he tried to fit in as many drama opportunities as his swimming commitments allowed.

After moving to Dunedin to study a degree in Exercise and Sport Science at Otago University, Blomfield was able to pursue both of his passions, even if meant for a demanding schedule.

As part of highly-regarded swimming coach Lars Humer’s squad at Moana Pool, he was sharing lanes with past and present Olympians and spent much of 2020 as a training buddy to current world 400m freestyle champion Erika Fairweather.

While training for the 2021 nationals, he was also preparing for a role in Les Miserable, combining nine swimming sessions a week with his university studies and nightly rehearsals.

After securing a podium placing at the open national level, and with Covid lockdowns a regular training distraction, Blomfield felt it was the ideal time to take a break from competitive swimming.

He has still spent a lot of time near the water over the past two years, helping with coaching in Humer’s squad, as well as lifeguarding, and wouldn’t rule out a return to the pool, perhaps when he qualifies for the masters ranks in a couple of years’ time.

“Over the past month I’ve actually been back in the water because in some of my scenes I’m not wearing very much and I wanted to be in some sort of shape. I still love the water and I’ll still try to hit paces and times, just not for as long as I used to.”

Blomfield hopes his allround talents - he’s also worked hard on his singing in recent years - will help him carve out a career in the performing arts. 

“I’m still young and I’m still very ambitious, that competitive edge is something that I’ve brought with me from swimming. I’m not the most amazing actor yet but I’d like to see what would happen if I really take this seriously.”