Jessica Long.Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty
The bi-lateral amputee swimmer, 29, earned a gold medal on Saturday during the 200m individual medley SM8 in Tokyo.
She continued, “I moved out to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Center [in Colorado Springs] about a year ago. I made that very big sacrifice to be away from my family and my husband just to have this type of performance and I think it’s paid off.”
“To be able to train at altitude, swim long course and to be around an amazing group of people, I’m just really thankful,” Long added.
Jessica Long.Buda Mendes/Getty
In aninterview with Team USA, Long said, “This is what I came here to do.”
“This was my number one goal to four-peat in this, and it’s really hard to do especially as you get older,” she expressed. “I got a chance to call my dad before the medal ceremony, and he was expressing how proud he was of me. It’s not easy, but it was definitely worth all the sacrifices.”
“Here in Tokyo, this is one of my favorite Paralympics I’ve ever attended,” she said.
“I love swimming. I want to see what I could continue to do in the sport,” she said. “Swimming has given me so much, so many opportunities.”
Long is also excited to see a new generation of Paralympians earn their place in the history books, and hopes her story inspires other would-be athletes out there.
“I don’t know anyone who has made it through this life, with it being super easy. Life is hard,” she said of what she would tell someone with disabilities who would like to play sports. “That’s what I think, but as long as you approach it with this positive attitude.”
Jessica Long.Sam Barnes/Sportsfile via Getty
“I just wanted to go out and do my best. I’m just a person. I like to have fun, and I definitely had fun that swim,” she told reporters, per a press release. “Going into it I knew I needed to go out fast, and that’s what I did, so I’m happy with my race.”
Shepherd, who is also a bi-lateral amputee, said, “The veterans all told me the same thing - go out and have fun. There’s nothing like your first finals. By the time you get to finals you can tell yourself you’ve made it. Even in prelims, don’t count yourself short if you didn’t make the finals.”
“That’s an accomplishment in itself, and I’m so happy to be here,” the rookie added.
“Jessica was everything to me. She looked just like me,” Shepherd shared. “Just being in the call room [in Tokyo] and sitting on the bus with her is something so special. And then being in the final heat together is something words can’t describe. Imagine being with your hero at nine years old getting her autograph and then being teammates with her and racing for the same purpose - to get gold for Team USA.”
Long also dished on their special relationship.
“It was one of her wildest dreams and goals to get to the Paralympics so to swim in a final with her was really special,” she said.
The 29-year-old recalled, “She came up in the cool down pool after and gave me a big hug and said, ‘Congratulations I knew you could do it.'”
“She’s like a little sister to me, and her mom is like a second mom to me,” Long added. “I love them.”
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As of Saturday afternoon, Team USA isranked seventh in total medal count— earning 11 gold, 7 silver, and 4 bronze.
Nick Mayhugh, Susannah Scaroni, Roxanne Trunnell, Robert Griswold, Gia Pergoloni, Mallory Weggemann, Anastasia Pagonis, Ian Seidenfeld, Brad Snyder, Allysa Seely, and Long have all won gold in their respective events.
Martin Raymond, Lex Gillette, Liza Corso, Shawn Morelli, Ahalya Lettenberger, Elizabeth Marks, and Hailey Danz have scored silver medals.
In addition to Long, Tatyana McFadden, Sophia Herzog, and Jenson van Emburgh have earned bronze medals.
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. The Tokyo Paralympics air on NBC until September 5.
source: people.com
