BONGANI MALUNGA
Naomi Ruele has been selected to represent the Florida International University (FIU) at the pinnacle of college tournaments, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships slated for next week (March 16 – 19) in Atlanta, Georgia.
Last week she was awarded the Swimmer of the Year accolade by the Florida based institution.
According to a communique from FIU, she qualified for the event after recording a school record time of 22.23 in the 50m freestyle category at the Conference USA Championships, which was also a record for the tournament.
She went on to win seven gold medals in as many events, this included three individual events and four relays. The FIU website also confirmed that she won the Conference USA Swimmer of the Meet (tournament) and set two more school records in the 100m free style and 200m free style.
Ruele is fast becoming the institution’s best swimmer after adding to accolades she has collected while representing FIU this year. More gold medals at the upcoming NCAA Championships will surely result in more national recognition in the USA as she has already built up an excellent reputation at conference level.