16-Time Paralympic Gold Medalist Jessica Long Will Make Racing Return at Para-Nationals

2022 US Para Swimming National Championships

• December 16-18, 2022
• Mecklenburg County Aquatics Center, Charlotte, North Carolina
• 50 meter (long course meters)
• Psych Sheets
• WPS Points Calculator (2022)
• Livestream: on the US Para Swimming Facebook page here

For the third consecutive weekend, a segment of the country’s top swimmers will head to North Carolina for a championship meet. This time, it will be the US Para Swimming National Championships in Charlotte.

This year’s meet will be swum as a multi-class event. This means that swimmers from all classes will race each other, but rather than being compared on time, they will be scored based on the World Para Swimming points system. In short: the event winners will be the swimmers who come closest to the World Records in their events.

American Records have been recognized in 60 different events so far this year, and most of those swimmers will race at this meet.

That includes Jamal Hill (S9), who is responsible for 11 of those records, including a bunch in short course meters at the Australian Championships when he hung around, along with several other American men, to race at the Australian Championships this summer. Hill is entered in the 200 free, 50 fly, and 50 free.

Hill won a Paralympic bronze medal at the Tokyo Paralympic Games, and repeated that finish earlier this year at the World Championships in Madeira, Portugal.

He’s one of a number of Paralympians who will attend this meet. Others include McKenzie Coan (S7), who won the 400 free in Tokyo and has six career Paralympic medals; Mikaela Jenkins (S10), who won the 100 fly and was on the winning 400 medley relay in Tokyo; and Morgan Stickney (S8), who won the 400 free and swam on the 400 medley relay in Tokyo.

Also swimming will be Jessica Long (S8), a five-time Paralympian and one of the most decorated Paralympic swimmers in history. In total, she has won 29 Paralympic medals, of which 16 were gold. Long will race the 50 back, 50 free, and 100 fly after sitting out this year’s World Championships. She said that she was taking the opportunity to take her first break since making the 2004 Paralympic team and was gearing up to prepare for the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

Other 2022 American Record breakers who will race this weekend in Charlotte:

• Matthew Torres (S8)
• Taylor Winnett (S10/SM10)
• Sarah Bofinger (SB9)
• Adin Williams (S7)
• Ellie Marks (S6/SM6)
• Trevor Lukacsko (S14/SB14/SM14)

Other Tokyo 2020 Paralympics who will race this weekend in Charlotte:

• David Abrahams (S13/SB13)
• Lawrence Sapp (S14/SM14)
• Zach Shattuck (S6/SB6)
• Julia Gaffney (S7)
• McClain Hermes (S11)
• Keegan Knott (S9/SM9)
• Haven Shepherd (S8/SM8/SB7)
• Lizzi Smith (S9)
• MeiMei White (S9/SB8)