Ruele first local swimmer to qualify for Olympics
Calistus Kolantsho | Tuesday March 22, 2016 14:07
The rising swimmer’s time of 26:07 was enough to book her a berth at the Olympics. Former world 400m champion, Amantle Montsho is the only other woman to make it to the Olympics.
Last week Thursday, Ruele posted a time of 22:68 in the 50 free preliminaries, placing her 41st. Ruele was making her first appearance in the USA colleges championships. Ruele’s time of 22:68 was the fourth-fastest time of her collegiate career.
The Botswana Swimming Sports Association (BSSA) spokesperson, Ruth Van Der Merwe told Mmegi Sport yesterday that they are proud of Ruele’s achievement. She said the swimmer had worked hard to qualify for Rio.
Van Der Merwe said in the coming weeks, she would be fighting for an A time qualification.
This year, Ruele finished either first or second in the 50 free 12 times. She has posted times under 23 seconds four times, including a 22:33 in the prelims of the C-USA Championships and her record-setting time of 22:23 in the finals.
“Ruele is always improving. She has achieved so much especially for her age. We are very pleased with her progress. She is still young and has a lot to do to be one of the best,” said Van Der Merwe.
For his part, Botswana National Olympic Committee chief executive officer, Tuelo Serufho said Ruele is the first athlete from swimming to represent Botswana at the games.
He said the swimmer becomes the second female to represent the country at the games after Montsho. Serufho said traditionally, athletics and boxing have been the only codes that have been qualifying.
“We have come a long way with Ruele when she was still in development in 2011 when we took her to Isle of Man for World championships,” Serufho said. “We are now reaping the rewards of our labour.”