MIAMI (June 23, 2016) – FIU's
Naomi Ruele was named the Junior Female Sportsperson of the Year by the Botswana National Sports Council (the national governing body for all sports in Botswana), the organization announced on June 6.
Ruele has qualified to represent her home country of Botswana in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. At the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center on March 20, Ruele swam a qualifying time of 26.07 in the 50 Free during the official FINA (
Fédération Internationale de Natation) approved time trial. Ruele is just the second female and the first swimmer from Botswana to qualify for the Olympics.
During her 2015-16 season at FIU, Ruele finished either first or second in the 50 Free 12 times. She has posted times under 23 seconds five 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 was perfect during the C-USA Championships, winning gold in each of the seven events she swam in (three individual, four relays). Named the C-USA Swimmer of the Meet, she also set two school records during the championships (100 Free and 200 Free Relay).
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUSwimDive) and become a fan on Facebook (
Facebook.com/FIUSwimmingAndDiving) for all the latest Swimming and Diving news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (
Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
