JESSICA LONG Paralympic Swimming 2004: Paralympic Gold Medalist 2008: Paralympic Gold Medalist Personal Specs Date of birth: February 29, 1992 Hometown: Baltimore, MD Residence: Colorado Springs, CO On the Fast Track 2011: Nine gold medals and four world records - Pan-Pacific Para Swimming Championships, Edmonton, Canada 2010: Seven gold medals, IPC Swimming World Championships, Eindhoven, Netherlands 2009: Seven gold medals, Can-Am Championships, Edmonton, Alberta Canada 2008: Four Gold medals, Paralympic Games, Beijing, China 2007: ESPY Award winner – Best Female Athlete with a Disability 2004: Three gold medals, Paralympic Games, Athens, Greece Passion for the Olympics At the 2004 Paralympic Games, Jessica Long exploded onto the international scene. As the youngest athlete on the U.S. Paralympic Team, a 12-year-old Long won three gold medals. In 2008, with expectations of a huge medal haul at the Paralympic Games, Long delivered one incredible performance after another to win six medals, including four gold. In addition to her four gold medals, Long set three new world records. She shows no signs of slowing down heading into the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. Personal Long was born in Siberia and was adopted from a Russian orphanage at the age of 13 months. Because of lower leg anomalies (fibular hemimelia), her legs were amputated when she was 18 months old. She learned to walk with prostheses and has been unstoppable ever since. Long has been involved in many sports including gymnastics, cheerleading, ice skating, biking, trampoline, rock climbing and, of course, she loves to swim. She began swimming in her grandparents’ pool before joining her first competitive team in 2002. Did You Know……? • Jessica worked for ESPN as a sideline reporter on college football during the 2005 season • Jessica was named winner of the 77th AAU Sullivan Award for America's top amateur athlete. First Olympic Memory… ““In Athens, 2004, I was twelve years old. I wasn't even expected to make the team, so it was a big shock that I went. After the first race, the hundred freestyle, I ended up being seated first in finals. You always hope that you’re going to win a gold medal but I never really thought that would come true. Then to come away with three gold medals was really exciting. I don’t think I realized how special it was until I came home.” .