Four Swedish aquatic athletes have been awarded RF Elite Scholarships for the academic year, a scholarship given each year to elite national-level athletes who are also pursuing post-secondary education.
The athletes will receive SEK 50,000 (Swedish krona) in total, 25,000 per semester.
The aquatics athletes receiving the scholarship were:
- Jessica Eriksson, swimming
- Ellen Olsson, open water swimming
- Ellen Ek, diving
- Lina Watz, para swimming
Jessica Eriksson, the lone able-bodied pool swimmer receiving the scholarship, currently attends Bond University on the Gold Coast in Australia, and competed for Sweden at the European Championships this past August. The 25-year-old placed 18th in the women’s 50 breaststroke, 24th in the 100 breast, and 28th in the 200.
Diver Ellen Ek also competed in Glasgow, placing 9th on platform and 7th in the synchronized platform event. Para swimmer Lina Watz won a silver medal in the S9 100 backstroke at the Para Euros in Dublin, along with three additional top-8 finishes, and open water swimmer Ellen Olsson has also competed internationally this year, including a podium finish on the European Open Water World Cup in July.
In total, 72 athletes received the scholarship out of 420 applicants. You can read about all of the award winners here.