American Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long secured her 25th career medal after winning gold in the 200-meter individual medley SM8 at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Long is the most decorated active athlete at the Paralympics, and she is a five-time competitor at the Games. The gold marks her fourth straight win in the SM8 200 IM and her second medal in Tokyo. Earlier in the games, she won the bronze in the 100-meter backstroke S8.
“I’m over the moon. I’m just so happy. To have a four-peat in the 200 IM, that’s what I’ve been dreaming of coming into these Games. I’m really proud of myself,” Long said in a news release.
Long has won 14 gold medals, six silver medals, and five bronze medals. She is the second-most decorated U.S. Paralympian in history after swimmer Trischa Zorn, who won 55 medals over seven games.
Long, from Baltimore, Maryland, has been involved with several other sports over her lifetime, including gymnastics, basketball, cheerleading and rock climbing. But she learned to swim in her grandparents’ pool and joined her first competitive swim team at 10 years old.
At 12, she was the youngest athlete on the Paralympic team in Athens. She’s been named to Sports Illustrated’s World Best Female Athletes and has been the recipient of the ESPN Best Female Athlete with a Disability award.
“I moved out to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Center about a year ago,” Long said. “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.”
Jessica Long‘s Career Paralympic Medals
| Games | Medal |
| 2004 Athens |
Gold – 100m free S8
|
| 2004 Athens |
Gold – 400m free S8
|
| 2004 Athens |
Gold – 4×100 free relay 34 points
|
| 2008 Beijing |
Gold – 100m free S8
|
| 2008 Beijing |
Gold – 400m free S8
|
| 2008 Beijing |
Gold – 100m fly S8
|
| 2008 Beijing |
Gold – 200m IM SM8
|
| 2008 Beijing |
Silver – 100m backstroke S8
|
| 2008 Beijing |
Bronze – 100m breast SB7
|
| 2012 London |
Gold – 100m free S8
|
| 2012 London |
Gold – 400m free S8
|
| 2012 London |
Gold – 100m breast SB7
|
| 2012 London |
Gold – 100m fly S8
|
| 2012 London |
Gold – 200m IM SM8
|
| 2012 London |
Silver – 100m backstroke S8
|
| 2012 London |
Silver – 4×100 free relay 34 points
|
| 2012 London |
Bronze – 4×100 medley relay 34 points
|
| 2016 Rio |
Gold – 200m IM SM8
|
| 2016 Rio |
Silver – 400m free S8
|
| 2016 Rio |
Silver – 100m breast SB7
|
| 2016 Rio |
Silver – 4×100 free relay 34 points
|
| 2016 Rio |
Bronze – 100m back S8
|
| 2016 Rio |
Bronze – 100m fly S8
|
| 2020 Tokyo |
Gold – 200m IM SM8
|
| 2020 Tokyo |
Bronze – 100m back S8
|
I liked the ad on her life during the Olympics. She is something else with almost no kick. In fact I found out on my swim pro that butterfly is harder without a kick than breastroke since this guy did some laps and have no legs.