Ella Ramsay

Rising teenage star Ella Ramsay is set to realise a dream of becoming an Olympian like her dad after finishing second behind the unstoppable Kaylee McKeown in the 200m individual medley at the Australian Olympic trials in June 2024.

Ella’s dad Heath Ramsay, also her first coach, represented Australia as a butterflyer at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Emulating her father at the Olympics will continue the family’s special journey in the pool, after Ella made the 2022 Commonwealth Games team for Birmingham 20 years after Heath competed in Manchester in 2002.

At the time, Ella said “being on the same boat as Dad and now being called an Aussie Dolphin is pretty sick … so hopefully, like him, I will be able to compete in the Olympics one day."

And now she has made it.

The Ramsays join the McKeons (Ron and Emma) and the Nays (Robbie and Meagen) as father-daughter duos who have swum for Australia.

In Birmingham, Ella reached the final of her only event, the 200m individual medley. She also reached the semi-finals at the world championships in Budapest in the lead-up to the Games.

A then 16-year-old Ella claimed a remarkable 14 medals at the 2021 Australian Age Championships, winning 10 events, including in the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle, 100m breaststroke and 200m and 400m individual medley. She also defended five titles at the 2022 championships.

Ella improved solidly through 2023 and has enjoyed an outstanding season in 2024 – finishing second to Kaylee twice in the 200m and 400m individual medleys at the Australian Open Championships on the Gold Coast.

She completed a rare double at the Sydney Open in May, adding the 100m breaststroke to her opening night victory in the 400m freestyle.

Ella nailed down her place in Paris when she finished first in the 200m breaststroke, and second in the 200m individual medley and 100m breaststroke at the Australian Olympic trials in Brisbane in June.

She put an exclamation mark on her Olympic program when she won the 400m individual medley on the final night of competition, in a time of 4:36.56.

“My dad and I are really competitive, so it will give me bragging rights if I go to Paris with more events than he did in Sydney,” she said. “I hope he is proud of me.”