Jessica Long
At the 2004 Paralympic Games, Jessica Long exploded onto the international scene. As the youngest athlete on the U.S. Paralympic Team, a 12-year-old Long won three gold medals. In 2008, with expectations of a huge medal haul at the Paralympic Games, Long delivered one incredible performance after another to win six medals, including four gold. In addition to her four gold medals, Long set three new world records.
Long had 18 world record-breaking performances in 2006 and is the current world record holder in 15 events (one as part of a relay). Her stellar performance at the 2006 IPC Swimming World Championships - nine gold medals in nine events (seven individual, two relay) and five world records - drew attention from outside the world of Paralympic sport. In 2007, Long became the first Paralympic athlete selected as the Amateur Athletic Union's Sullivan Award winner, given to the best amateur athlete in the United States.
Long was born in Siberia and was adopted from a Russian orphanage at the age of 13 months. Because of lower leg anomalies (fibular hemimelia), her legs were amputated when she was 18 months old. She learned to walk with prostheses and has been unstoppable ever since. Long has been involved in many sports including gymnastics, cheerleading, ice skating, biking, trampoline, rock climbing and, of course, she loves to swim. She began swimming in her grandparents' pool before joining her first competitive team in 2002. The next year, Long was selected as Maryland Swimming's 2003 Female Swimmer of the Year with a Disability.
Major Achievements:
- 2009: Seven gold medals, world record, S8 100m breaststroke - Summer Can-Am Championships, Edmonton, Alberta Canada
- 2009: Seven gold medals (100m breast, 100m fly, 50m free, 50m fly, 400m free, 50m breast, 100m free) - Spring Can-Am Championships, Gresham, Oregon
- 2008: Gold medal, 100m Butterfly S8; gold medal, 100m Freestyle S8; gold medal, 400m Freestyle S8; gold medal, 200m Individual Medley SM8; silver medal, 100m Backstroke S8; bronze medal, 100m Breaststroke SB7 - Paralympic Games, Beijing, China
- 2008: World record, S8 100m butterfly - Can-Am Championships, Victoria, British Columbia
- 2008: Recipient of Juan Antonio Samaranch IOC Disabled Athlete Award
- 2007: First place, 50m backstroke, 50m butterfly, 100m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, 100m freestyle, 200m butterfly; second place, 50m freestyle - U.S. Paralympics Open Swimming Championships, College Park, Md.
- 2007: ESPY Award winner - Best Female Athlete with a Disability
- 2007: Selected as USA Swimming's Disability Swimmer of the Year (Trischa L. Zorn Award)
- 2007: Three world records (50m fly, 200m free, 1500m free) - GTAC Disability Open, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan
- 2007: Three world records (200m back, 400m IM, 800m free) - Spring Can-Am Swimming Championships, Montreal, Quebec
- 2007: Named winner of 77th AAU James E. Sullivan Award
- 2006: Named U.S. Olympic Committee Paralympian of the Year
- 2006: Named Disabled Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World magazine
- 2006: Selected as USA Swimming's Disability Swimmer of the Year (Trischa L. Zorn Award)
- 2006: Second place, Rock Climbing Speed Climbing - Extremity Games
- 2006: Nine gold medals, 100m freestyle (WR), 100m butterfly (WR), 200m individual medley (WR), 400m freestyle (WR), 4x100m freestyle relay (WR), 50m freestyle, 100m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, 4x100 medley relay - IPC Swimming World Championships, Durban, South Africa
- 2006: Two world records, 100m butterfly, 200m individual medley - Belgian Open, Antwerp, Belgium
- 2006: Five gold medals, silver medal, four world records (50m breaststroke, 50m butterfly, 200m breaststroke, 400m individual medley) - Can-Am Championships, London, Ontario
- 2006: U.S. Olympic Committee Female Athlete of the Month - January 2006
- 2006: Two world records, 100m butterfly, 200m individual medley - Blaze Sports Georgia Open, Atlanta, Ga.
- 2005: Five gold medals, bronze medal, two world records - 2005 U.S. Paralympics Open Swimming Championships, Minneapolis, Minn. **Named Swimmer of the Meet
- 2004: Three gold medals, 100m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay - Paralympic Games, Athens, Greece
