Jessica Long

Jessica Long

Long at the 2016 Paralympics
Personal information
Birth name Tatiana Olegovna Kirillova
Full name Jessica Tatiana Long
National team  United States
Born (1992-02-29) February 29, 1992[1]
Bratsk, Russia[2]
Height

5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) (with prosthetics)

4 ft 8 in (1.42 m) (without prosthetics)
Weight

130 lb (59 kg) (with prosthetics)

115 lb (52 kg) (without prosthetics)
Website JessicaLong.org
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Butterfly, Backstroke, Breastroke, Freestyle
Classifications S8/SB7/SM8
Club North Baltimore Aquatic Club [3]
Coach Erik Posegay [3]

Jessica Tatiana Long (born February 29, 1992) is a Russian-born United States Paralympic swimmer from Baltimore, Maryland, who competes in S8 and SB7 category events. She held multiple world records and has won multiple gold medals over four Summer Paralympics. In total Long has won 23 Paralympic medals.

Early life

Long was born Tatiana Olegovna Kirillova in Bratsk, Siberia and adopted at the age of 13 months. Because of fibular hemimelia, her lower legs were amputated when she was 18 months old.[4] She learned to walk with prostheses. Long has been involved in many sports including gymnastics, cheerleading, ice skating, biking, trampoline, and rock climbing. 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.[2][5] At the time she was born, her biological mother and father were unwed teenagers, 17 and 18 years old respectively. They later married and had three more children, one of whom is also disabled.[6] Long's adoptive brother, Joshua, was adopted at the same time from the same Siberian orphanage.[6]

International swimming career

Long at the 2016 Paralympics

Long entered the international stage at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece, winning three gold medals in swimming. Aged twelve at the time, she was the youngest competitor on the U.S. Paralympic Team.[7] One of her gold medals was the 100-meter freestyle, which she swam just 0.19 seconds ahead of Paralympic-record-holder and world-record-holder Israeli Keren Leibovitch.[8]

Long had 18 world record-breaking performances in 2006. Her performance at the 2006 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming World Championships in Durban, South Africa where she won nine gold medals for her participation in seven individual medleys and two relays. She also held five world records which made her known from outside the world of Paralympic sport. In 2006, Long became the first Paralympic athlete selected as the AAU's James E. Sullivan Award winner.[7] She was honored as the U.S. Olympic Committee's 2006 Paralympian of the year and Swimming World Magazine's 2006 Disabled Swimmer of the Year.

Major achievements:

CR: Championship Record; WR: World Record

See also

References

  1. ↑ Jessica Long. rio2016.com
  2. 1 2 "Вести.Ru: Русские родители Джессики Лонг рассказали, почему отказались от дочери". Vesti.ru. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
  3. 1 2 Jessica Long, Paralympic Gold Medalist, Transfers from NBAC to Loyola. Swimming World Magazine (June 1, 2015)
  4. ↑ Forgotten pride, 7 September 2012, Siberian Times, Retrieved 9 September 2016
  5. ↑ "Honoring Jessica Long". Congressional Record. May 1, 2007. pp. E907–E908. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  6. 1 2 "The Siberian parents who gave up Jessica Long as a new-born baby salute her heroic achievement". The Siberian Times. September 15, 2012.
  7. 1 2 "Meet Swimmer Jessica Long". Disability Today Network. April 25, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Paralympic Swimming Continues: U.S. Comes on Strong During Day Two". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Jessica Long Named Best Female Athlete with a Disability by ESPYs". Swimming World. Sports Publications, Inc. July 17, 2007. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  10. 1 2 "Jessica Long". Team USA. United States Olympic Committee. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  11. ↑ "2014 Pan Pacific Para Championships – 8/6/2014 to 8/10/2014 Results" (PDF). Team USA. U.S. Paralympic Association. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  12. ↑ Keith, Braden (December 29, 2014). "2014 Swammy Awards: Para-Swimming Female Athlete of The Year Jessica Long". Swim Swam Partners, LLC. Universal Sports Network. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Glasgow 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships". Official website of the Paralympic Movement. The International Paralympic Committee (Swimming). Retrieved September 21, 2015.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Sarah Reinertsen
Mallory Weggemann		 Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award
2007
2012, 2013 		Succeeded by
Shay Oberg
Jamie Whitmore
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