ParalympianPara Swimming

Martha Ruether

Paralympian 2016, 2020

news from athlete's sport

Para Swimming's Jamal Hill: How I Embraced My Disability And Became A Paralympic Medal Swimmer
My journey to becoming a Paralympic athlete started with a secret — a secret I carried for more than a decade. At the age of 10, I was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT), a hereditary neurological condition that affects my peripheral nerves, maki...
Nov 24, 2023
I Hope My Story Can Inspire Someone The Way Other Paralympians Have Inspired Me
I was eight years old when I heard of the Paralympics for the first time. I was competing at a swim meet when a few officials came over after my race to ask me if I participated in adaptive sports. I had no idea what the Paralympics were. So, I went ho...
Aug 31, 2023

Athlete Bio

Height

5'10"

Hometown

Allegany, NY

Education

Allegany-Limestone High School (Allegany, N.Y.) ‘12 DeVry University ’17, Business Management

classification: S13, SB13, SM13

Personal

Ruether got her start in swimming when she attended a swim camp for people with a visual impairment in 2004 when she was at school in Allegany, New York...She is a sprinter and has been in a hurry her whole life, as she was born 16 weeks premature weighing 1lb. 8 oz. and legally blind...Ruether made her senior international debut in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2008...Daughter of Mike and Maureen Ruether...Has one sister, Courtney Harrigan...Enjoys knitting, spending time with friends and she is a Whovian...Her favorite movie is The Imitation Game...Favorite book is “All The Bright Places...Enjoys hockey and can water ski

Paralympic Experience

Two-time Paralympian (2016, 2020)
Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, 13th (100-meter butterfly)
Paralympic Games Rio 2016, 8th (100-meter breaststroke)

World Championship Experience

Most recent: 2019 – 4th (50-meter freestyle), 5th (100-meter breaststroke), 8th (100-meter butterfly)
Years of Participation: 2013, 2015, 2019
Top Finish: 4th – 2019 (50-meter freestyle)