Jessica Long

Jessica Tatiana Long
Personal information
Birth name Tatiana Olegovna Kirillova
Full name Jessica Tatiana Long
Born February 29, 1992
Bratsk,[1] Russia
Height

5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) (2011) (with prosthetics)

4 ft 8 in (1.42 m) (2009) (without prosthetics)
Weight

120 lb (54 kg) (with prosthetics)

92 lb (41 kg) (without prosthetics)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes All
Club NBAC - North Baltimore Aquatic Club
Coach Bob Bowman

Jessica Tatiana Long (born February 29, 1992) is a Russian-born United States Paralympic swimmer from Baltimore, Maryland. She is the current world record holder in 10 Paralympic events.

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. 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.[1][2] 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.[3] Long's adoptive brother, Joshua, was adopted at the same time from the same Siberian orphanage.[3]

International swimming career

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.[4] 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.[5]

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.[4] 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:

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Вести.Ru: Русские родители Джессики Лонг рассказали, почему отказались от дочери". Vesti.ru. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Honoring Jessica Long" 153 (70). Congressional Record. May 1, 2007. pp. E907–E908. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "The Siberian parents who gave up Jessica Long as a new-born baby salute her heroic achievement". The Siberian Times. September 15, 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Meet Swimmer Jessica Long". Disability Today Network. April 25, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Paralympic Swimming Continues: U.S. Comes on Strong During Day Two". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved July 9, 2011.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
United States Sarah Reinertsen
United States Mallory Weggemann		 Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award
2007
2012, 2013 		Succeeded by
United States Shay Oberg
Incumbent