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Remedy Rule Not Defined by DQs; Will Proudly Represent The Philippines in Tokyo
At some point in every swimmer’s career, disappointment and frustration will be their reality. For Remedy Rule, that frustration meant that the best swim of her career, officially, never happened. In 2017, when Rule was a sophomore at the University of Texas, she had qualified for an individual final at the NCAA championships for the first time in the 200-yard butterfly. She was close to the lead for the first 150 yards and ended up touching third in 1:52.92, a full second quicker than her lifetime best.
But Rule was disqualified for not breaking the surface before 15 meters off her start. Video evidence as to whether she stayed underwater too long or not is inconclusive, but that didn’t matter. If the DQ did not sting enough, Rule’s Longhorns ended up finishing fifth, just one-half of a point behind Georgia for fourth.
“I let myself be upset and then turned my focus on my growth and what I had done well,” Rule said. “I was able to A-final at NCAAs and swim faster at finals. The year before, I didn’t even break 2:00 in the 200 butterfly. It was more fuel to the fire.”
Two years later, at her final NCAA Championships representing Texas, Rule was disqualified again in the 200 fly, this time for a non-simultaneous kick. This time, it was not a particularly amazing swim being erased (she actually would have placed ninth), but that didn’t matter. Losing what should have been her last college race stung.
Remedy Rule at a 2018 dual meet — Photo Courtesy: Blake Benard
“It took longer to move past because I would never have a chance to compete for Texas again,” Rule said. “I was grieving the end of my collegiate career, both in that it was ending and it didn’t end how I wanted. And I think it’s okay, necessary even, for us to grieve all types of loss, including loss of goals and transitions in life.”
For most swimmers, that would have been it, their swimming career ended on the roughest note possible. That’s the brutal reality for most swimmers, even after a devastating final note like a DQ. Rule had achieved some success in the long course pool, finishing eighth in the 200 fly at U.S. Nationals in 2017 and 12th in the event a year later, but she did not see a legitimate possibility of representing the United States in the Olympics. But during her senior year of college, she decided to pursue competing for the Philippines.
Rule is a native of Crozet, Va., but her mother was born in the Philippines, so she was eligible to gain citizenship. After completing that process, she now holds dual citizenship with both the United States and the Philippines, and competing as a member of the Philippine national team has brought a sense of cultural fulfillment.
“I felt I had more to give on the long course stage. I wanted to swim post college representing a team and the Philippines gave me that opportunity,” she said. “It’s special being able to swim for the Philippines. I get to do what I love, swimming, and connect with my culture on my mom’s side. I’ve felt a unique connection meeting my Filipino teammates having a shared background. There were a handful of occasions when I spoke with my teammates and thought, ‘Oh, I grew up like that, too!”
Her first meet representing her new home country was the 2019 World Championships, and Rule swam four events, finishing as high as 19th in the 200 fly. A few months later, she won five medals at the Southeast Asian Games, including silver in the 200 fly and bronze in the 200 free. She swam the fastest long course 200 fly of her career in March 2020 at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Des Moines, Iowa, at 2:09.58, just before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world and delayed the 2020 Olympics to 2021.
In 2021, Rule swam a lifetime best in the 100 fly of 59.55 at a meet in Austin in May, and her top 200 fly was a 2:10.90 at a meet in Mission Viejo in June. At the beginning of July, she revealed that she had been officially selected as one of two swimmers representing the Philippines at the Tokyo Olympics, along with sprint freestyler Luke Gebbie on the men’s side.
The will be her last meet of her swimming career. After that, Rule plans to attend the University of Miami to pursue a Masters of Professional Science focusing on marine biology. The finality of the Olympics means that the Mission Viejo meet was her last representing Texas after six years and her last meet with her parents in attendance. Her perspective on the swansong of her swimming career? “Overwhelming gratitude,” Rule said.
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“I don’t remember my life before swimming. Many of my close friends I met through swimming—something about the sport bonds us unlike any other. My identity is intertwined with swimming and although I won’t be competing anymore post Tokyo, swimming will always be a part of my life. I am who I am today because of swimming. I can’t think of a better way to end my swimming career than at the meet that is a dream for every single swimmer, the Olympics.”
Whatever happens in Tokyo, Rule’s career will not be defined by getting disqualified at the most inopportune times. But even the DQs have been moments of learning, great practice for how to handle adversity in the world beyond swimming. “Not everything is going to go exactly how I want it to go,” Rule said. Going into her final meet, the body of work of her swimming career is something she can be immensely proud of.
“Looking back, I could have swam faster here or placed higher there or avoided the DQs, but as a whole, I’ve been able to do much of what I’ve wanted to in swimming. I swam for a D1 college, competed in NCAAs, I competed in the first ever professional swim league, and I have represented my country on an international level. And now I get to compete in the freaking Olympics!
“Of course I want to reach every goal I set for myself—I don’t work hard and dedicate my time to swimming not to reach them—but I know my worth is not based on what I accomplish. It’s how I carry myself, it’s how I treat those around me, and it’s how I do my best every day.”
