Ruby set to Storm in her new environment

USC Spartans’ newest member Ruby Storm is already making herself known after dominating her recent school swimming carnival at Siena Catholic College.

18/02/2021 - Ruby excited in her new USC Spartans gear Picture: Nathan Doyle

USC Spartans’ newest member Ruby Storm is already making herself known after dominating her recent school swimming carnival at Siena Catholic College.

The 17-year-old para-athlete, who has an intellectual disability, broke the previously held school records in all three events that she raced in by a considerable margin.

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“I raced in the butterfly, breaststroke and freestyle and I’m not entirely sure what the records were, but I know I broke them all by a few seconds which I’m proud of,” she said.

She smashed the records in the 50m freestyle (previous record 31.88s, new record 29.62s), 50m butterfly (previous record 36.39s, new record 32.36s) and the 50m breaststroke (previous record 44.96s, new record 42.82s).

Storm moved to the Sunshine Coast from her country town of Traralgon, Victoria, in September and said she couldn’t be happier.

“It’s been pretty good, I’m gaining my fitness back and I’ve been training really well,” she said.

“I’m enjoying being with the other para-athletes and my mental health has also been 10 times better.”

This year’s Paralympics are set to be held in Tokyo, Japan, in August and Storm said it’s very exciting for her and the rest of the team.

“We’re all working together to reach the same goal which is to head to Tokyo,” she said.

“I know we will all be well prepared but right now we’re all just hoping it goes ahead due to COVID-19.

“The main goal for me is to just go over to Tokyo and put forward really good times.”

USC Spartans high performance and para-swimming head coach Nathan Doyle said Storm had been a great addition to the Spartans team.

“I think Ruby is a talented athlete and she’s a great dynamic to the group,” Doyle said.

“She’s keen to learn and she’s a really important acquisition for us as we look towards Tokyo and even further down the track.

“We know she’s a good fit for the program and she’ll be a key component of the USC Spartans moving forward.”

Doyle said Storm was looking to maintain her spot in the Australian relay team and has goals for her own individual events.

“Definitely, all eyes are on Tokyo for her,” he said.

“She’s looking to maintain her spot in the relay team but to also have some big goals in her individual events.”

The next event for the Spartans is the Australian Championships in Sydney next month, followed by the trials for both Olympic and Paralympic teams.

“The trials in June will be the first big step that we need to take as a team and then from there how well we can swim and perform in Tokyo,” Doyle said.

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