Sarah Louise Rung: Why I love swimming

"Swimming has taught me dedication and commitment, and to not give up when it gets hard."

Norway's Paralympic champion Sarah Louise Rung has been swimming since she was a child.

Rung became a professional swimmer in her late teens, making her debut as an international athlete at the World Short Course Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2009.

She quickly chalked up a number of wins, including gold medals in the 50m butterfly S5 and 200m freestyle S5 at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

With a return to Brazil imminent, this time for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, Paralympic.org asked her what she loves about swimming.

1. I love the feeling I get when I float in the water.

2. Swimming has taught me to push myself harder than I thought I could.

3. I love the way swimming makes me feel when everything feels great in a race, and when I touch the wall first and look up at the board and see I have achieved a great time and all the work has paid off.

4. It's your swimming family that really knows you, because they know all your strengths and weaknesses.

5. Swimming makes me work hard towards my goals, and I get a great feeling when I accomplish them.

6. Swimming has taught me dedication and commitment, and to not give up when it gets hard.

7. Swimming has given me the opportunity to travel the world.

8. I love the way I can share my great achievements with my team and trainer/coach.

Rung is expected to compete at the 2016 IPC Swimming European Open Championships in Funchal, Portugal, between 30 April - 7 May.

Tickets are still available for free at the Funchal 2016 website.