Para swimmer Ashley Van Rijswijk will wear the green and gold for the first time at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, where she will contend the 100m breaststroke (SB14) and the 200m individual medley (SM14).
A passion for swimming runs deep in the Van Rijswijk family. Ashley’s grandparents ran a swim club and her father was a competitive swimmer. Raised in Tumut in the Riverina region of NSW, Ashley and her family would rise at 3.30am to commute 90 minutes to Wagga Wagga for her training, before returning for school.
In the lead up to Tokyo the NSWIS scholarship holder claimed a silver and bronze medal in the 50m breaststroke and the 100m breaststroke respectively at the 2021 Australian Age Championships.
Her performance at the Australian Swimming Trials two months later, where she swam fastest in the 100m breaststroke heats and placed second in the final, saw her selected onto the Australian Paralympic Team for the Tokyo 2020 Games.