This is Jessica Long. She was born without bones in her lower legs, and both legs were amputated when she was 18 months old. She took up swimming when she was 10 and won three gold medals at the 2004 Paralympics just two years later. Last week she received the Sullivan Award as the best amateur athlete in the country. She's 15 and holds the Paralympic record in 12 events.
Long's remarkable journey from an orphanage in Russia to the top of the amateur sports world in the United States is documented in a New York Times column by George Vecsey that is, unfortunately, available to subscribers only. Reading about her, what I like best about Long is that she doesn't seem to see herself as remarkable. She told USA Today, "I just like to swim."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-06-2008 @ 9:50AM
kesto said...
hello jessica
you are a very pretty girl dont look at your disability always be happy and take life as it comes hope to talk to you on phone one of this days i care bye god bless you
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9-17-2008 @ 5:51AM
lionel said...
Hey Jessica am a Cameroonian and a cripple with no abilities or talents like you do.I head about you during Olympics and feel like getting multi vatted by you.How come you could do all this things without born?Actually i consider this a miracle.Please don't ignore my comment get in contact with me and i will be the happiest ever.You can call me through this number though it is not mind but just a friend.I cant afford a phone since am bankrupt .+237 756 532 16. My email address is lionelroy_01@yahoo.com
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11-21-2008 @ 2:36PM
chris spence said...
Hello Jessica, I saw you on the news this evening and I was immediately awe-struck. You are fantastically gifted, and a paragon of genuine world-class athleticism not to mention a hero to so many who need one. I know that is a lot of weight to bare on those mighty shoulders, but that's why you were blessed with such strength in them; you elevate others with your charismatic allaying presence alone (achievements aside) atop an obvious meridian view of the world as it should be.
My personal experience has shown me what true valor and character is, and though I have no personal knowledge of you... I see its merit through and through. I too once was a serious competitor, then a Marine Sergeant, now a student moving on to medical school (hopefully in baltimore). My story will be known by few, your story though will live on long after you and influence countless lives. There is a great responsibility and honor in that, and I have hope you see that, appreciate it, and apply it wisely in every life you come to inspire. Carry that heart of a lion into everything you experience, and I guarantee ceaseless victories abroad.
Congratulations and may you be better for all the challenges,
Christopher
cspence1@umd.edu
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