Jessica Long

Jessica Long
	Long in 2012
Personal information
Birth name	Tatiana Olegovna Kirillova
Full name	Jessica Tatiana Long
National team	United States
Born	February 29, 1992 (age 32); Bratsk, Russia
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) (with prosthetics) 4 ft 8 in (1.42 m) (without prosthetics)
Weight	130 lb (59 kg) (with prosthetics) 115 lb (52 kg) (without prosthetics)
Website	jessicalong.com
Sport
Sport	Breastroke, Freestyle
Classifications	S8/SB7/SM8
Club	North Baltimore Aquatic Club
Coach	Paul Yetter
Medal record
Women's para swimming
Representing the United States
Paralympic Games
IPC Swimming World Championships (LC)
IPC Swimming World Championships (SC)

Jessica Tatiana Long (born February 29, 1992) is a Russian-American

Baltimore, Maryland, who competes in the S8, SB7 and SM8 category events. She has held many world records and competed at five Paralympic Games

, winning 29 medals (16 of them gold). She has won over 50 world championship medals.

Early life

Long was born Tatiana Olegovna Kirillova in Bratsk, Russia. At the time she was born, her mother and father were unwed teenagers, 18 and 17 years old respectively. She was abandoned by her mother in a foster care and was later adopted by American parents at the age of 13 months.^[4] Because of fibular hemimelia, her lower legs were amputated when she was 18 months old.^[5] She learned to walk with prostheses. Long has been involved in many sports including gymnastics, cheerleading, ice skating, biking, trampoline, and rock climbing. She began swimming in her grandparents' pool before joining her first competitive team in 2002. The next year, Long was selected as Maryland Swimming's 2003 Female Swimmer with a Disability of the Year.^[6] Long trained with the North Baltimore Aquatic Club.

Long's adoptive brother, Joshua, was adopted at the same time from the same Siberian orphanage.^[7]

International swimming career

Long entered the international stage at the

Athens, Greece, winning three gold medals in swimming. Aged twelve at the time, she was the youngest competitor on the U.S. Paralympic Team.^[8] One of her gold medals was the 100-meter freestyle, which she swam just 0.19 seconds ahead of Paralympic-record-holder and world-record-holder Israeli swimmer Keren Leibovitch.^[9]

Long had 18 world record-breaking performances in 2006. Her performance at the 2006

Swimming World Magazine

's 2006 Disabled Swimmer of the Year.

In June 2021 the US announced the 34 Paralympic swimmers who would be going to the delayed 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo. Long was named as the lead for the women's team of McKenzie Coan, Elizabeth Marks, Rebecca Meyers and Mallory Weggemann.^[10]

On April 14, 2022, Long was named to the roster to represent the United States at the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships.^[11] On April 29, 2023, Long was named to the roster to represent the United States at the 2023 World Para Swimming Championships.^[12]

Major achievements:

CR: Championship Record; WR: World Record

2004: Three gold medals, 100m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 4 × 100 m freestyle relay – Paralympic Games, Athens, Greece
2005: Five gold medals, bronze medal, two world records, and named Swimmer of the Meet – 2005 U.S. Paralympics Open Swimming Championships,
Minneapolis, Minnesota
2006: Two world records (100m butterfly, 200m individual medley) – Blaze Sports Georgia Open,
Atlanta, Georgia
2006: U.S. Olympic Committee Female Athlete of the Month – January 2006
2006: Five gold medals, silver medal, four world records (50m breaststroke, 50m butterfly, 200m breaststroke, 400m individual medley) – Can-Am Championships, London, Ontario, Canada
2006: Named winner of 77th AAU James E. Sullivan Award
2006: Named Disabled Swimmer of the Year by
Swimming World magazine
2006: Named U.S. Olympic Committee Paralympian of the Year
2006: Second place
Rock Climbing Speed Climbing – Extremity Games

2006: Selected as USA Swimming's Disability Swimmer of the Year (Trischa L. Zorn Award)
2006: Two world records (100m butterfly, 200m individual medley) – Belgian Open, Antwerp, Belgium
2006: Nine gold medals (100m freestyle – WR, 100m butterfly – WR, 200m individual medley – WR, 400m freestyle – WR, 34pts 4 × 100 m freestyle relay – WR, 50m freestyle, 100m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, 34pts 4 × 100 m medley relay) – International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming World Championships, Durban, South Africa
2007: Three world records (200m backstroke, 400m individual medley, 800m freestyle) – Spring Can-Am Swimming Championships, Montreal, Canada
2007: Three world records (50m butterfly, 200m freestyle, 1500m freestyle) – GTAC Disability Open, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan
2007: Recipient of the ESPN Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award^[13]
2007: Selected as USA Swimming's Disability Swimmer of the Year (Trischa L. Zorn Award)
2007: First place, 50m backstroke, 50m butterfly, 100m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, 100m freestyle, 200m butterfly; second place, 50m freestyle – U.S. Paralympics Open Swimming Championships, College Park, Md.
2008: World record, S8 100m butterfly – Can-Am Championships, Victoria, Canada
2008: Recipient of Juan Antonio Samaranch IOC Disabled Athlete Award
2008: Four gold medals, three world records (400m freestyle – WR, 100m freestyle – WR, 200m individual medley – WR, 100m butterfly); silver medal (100m backstroke); bronze medal (100m breaststroke) – International Paralympic Committee (IPC) – Paralympic Games, Beijing, China
2009: Seven gold medals (100m breaststroke, 100m butterfly, 50m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 400m freestyle, 50m breaststroke, 100m freestyle) – Spring Can-Am Championships, Gresham, Oregon
2009: Seven gold medals, world record, S8 100m breaststroke – Summer Can-Am Championships, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
2009: Four gold medals and world records (100m freestyle – WR, 400m freestyle – WR, 100m breaststroke – WR, 100m butterfly – WR); four silver medals (50m freestyle, 100m individual medley, 200m individual medley, 34 pts 4 × 100 m freestyle relay) – International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming World Championships 25m, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2010: Six gold medals (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 100m breaststroke, 100m butterfly, 100m breaststroke) – Can-Am National Championships,
San Antonio, Texas
2010: Seven gold medals, two world records (100m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 100m backstroke, 100m butterfly, 200m individual medley – WR, 34pts 4 × 100 m freestyle relay – WR, 34pts 4 × 100 m medley relay); two silver medals (50m freestyle, 100m breaststroke) – International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming World Championships, Eindhoven, the Netherlands
2011: Nine gold medals, four world records (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle – WR, 400m freestyle – WR, 100m butterfly – WR, 100m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, 200m individual medley – WR, 34pts 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, 34pts 4 × 100 m medley relay) – Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships, Edmonton, Canada
2011: Six gold medals (100m freestyle, 100m breaststroke, 50m backstroke, 100m backstroke, 100m butterfly, 200m individual medley) – Can-Am Open Swimming Championship, La Mirada, California
2011: Named Disabled Swimmer of the Year by
Swimming World magazine
2012: Recipient of the
ESPY Award^[14]

2012: Five gold medals (100m butterfly, 400m freestyle, 100m breaststroke, 200m indiv. medley, 100m freestyle); two silver medals (4 × 100 m freestyle 34pts, 100m backstroke); bronze medal (4 × 100 m medley 34pts) – International Paralympic Committee (IPC) – Paralympic Summer Games, London, England
2012: Named U.S. Paralympic SportsWoman of the Year by the
United States Olympic Committee^[14]

2013: Three gold medals (100m freestyle, 200m individual medley, 400m Free) – U.S. Paralympics Spring Swimming Nationals/Can-Am,

Minneapolis, Minnesota

2013: Three gold medals, world record (200m individual medley, 400m freestyle, 100m butterfly – WR); silver medal (100m freestyle); bronze medal (4X100m freestyle) –

Montreal, Quebec

, Canada

2013: Recipient of the

ESPY

Award

2014: Four gold medals (100m freestyle, 200m individual medley, 100m backstroke, 400m freestyle) – U.S. Paralympics Spring Swimming Nationals/Can-Am,

Miami, Florida

2014: Six gold medals (100m freestyle, 100m breaststroke, 4x100 freestyle, 400m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 200 Individual Medley); two silver medals (100m backstroke, 4X100 medley) – Pan Pacific Para-Swimming Championships, Pasadena, California^[15]
2014: Named Para-Swimming Female Athlete of the Year by swimming news website SwimSwam^[16]
2015: Four gold medals (100m butterfly, 100m breaststroke, 200m individual medley, 400m freestyle); three silver medals (100m freestyle, 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, 100m backstroke) –
Glasgow, Scotland^[17]

2015: Selected as USA Swimming's Disability Swimmer of the Year (Trischa L. Zorn Award)
2016: One gold medal (200m individual medley SM8); three silver medals (100 m breaststroke SB7, 400 m freestyle S8, 4×100 m freestyle 34 pts ); two bronze medals (100 m butterfly S8, 100 m backstroke S8) – International Paralympic Committee (IPC) – Paralympic Summer Games, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In popular media

A special

Super Bowl commercial in 2021 and during the 2020 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Paralympics.^[19]^[20]

Bibliography

Long, Jessica with Hannah Long. Unsinkable: From Russian Orphan to Paralympic Swimming World Champion. China,
ISBN 978-1-328-70725-3
.

References

^ ^a ^b Jessica Long, Paralympic Gold Medalist, Transfers from NBAC to Loyola Archived April 21, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Swimming World Magazine (June 1, 2015)
^ Jessica Long Archived September 22, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. rio2016.com
^ "Вести.Ru: Русские родители Джессики Лонг рассказали, почему отказались от дочери". Vesti.ru. Archived from the original on October 1, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
^ "Американская паралимпийская чемпионка Джессика Лонг приехала в Россию, чтобы встретиться с матерью".
^ Forgotten pride Archived October 19, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, September 7, 2012, Siberian Times, Retrieved September 9, 2016
^ "Honoring Jessica Long". Congressional Record. May 1, 2007. pp. E907–E908. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
^ "The Siberian parents who gave up Jessica Long as a new-born baby salute her heroic achievement". The Siberian Times. September 15, 2012. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Meet Swimmer Jessica Long". Disability Today Network. April 25, 2012. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original
on September 13, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2011.

^ "United States name 34 swimmers on Tokyo 2020 Paralympic team". www.insidethegames.biz. June 22, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2021.

^ Gowdy, Kristen (April 14, 2022). "U.S. Paralympics Swimming Nominates 25 athletes to World Championship Roster". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.

^ Overend, Riley (April 29, 2023). "U.S. Paralympics Swimming Selects 22 (Including Just 6 Men) for 2023 Worlds Roster". swimswam.com. Retrieved April 29, 2023.

^ "Jessica Long Named Best Female Athlete with a Disability by ESPYs". Swimming World. Sports Publications, Inc. July 17, 2007. Archived from the original on April 12, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2016.

^ ^a ^b "Jessica Long". Team USA. United States Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.

^ "2014 Pan Pacific Para Championships – 8/6/2014 to 8/10/2014 Results" (PDF). Team USA. U.S. Paralympic Association. Retrieved October 25, 2015.

^ Keith, Braden (December 29, 2014). "2014 Swammy Awards: Para-Swimming Female Athlete of The Year Jessica Long". Swim Swam Partners, LLC. Universal Sports Network. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2015.

^ "Glasgow 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships". Official website of the Paralympic Movement. The International Paralympic Committee (Swimming). Archived from the original on September 22, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.

^ "'LONG WAY HOME: THE JESSICA LONG STORY'".

Swimming World News
. February 8, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2021.

^ Toyota TV Commercial, 'Upstream' Featuring Jessica Long [T1], retrieved August 29, 2021

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jessica Long.

Jessica Long at Team USA (archive July 13, 2023)

Jessica Long at the International Paralympic Committee
Jessica Long at IPC.InfostradaSports.com (archived)

Official website

A Step Ahead Prosthetics – Designer/Builder of Jessica's Custom Prosthetics at the Wayback Machine (archived May 16, 2014)

Awards and achievements

Preceded by
Sarah Reinertsen
Mallory Weggemann
Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award
2007
2012, 2013 Succeeded by
Shay Oberg
Jamie Whitmore

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jessica_Long&oldid=1212203445"

[swimmingworldmagazine.com-1] Jessica Long, Paralympic Gold Medalist, Transfers from NBAC to Loyola Archived April 21, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Swimming World Magazine (June 1, 2015)

[rio-2] Jessica Long Archived September 22, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. rio2016.com

[vesti-3] "Вести.Ru: Русские родители Джессики Лонг рассказали, почему отказались от дочери". Vesti.ru. Archived from the original on October 1, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2012.

[4] "Американская паралимпийская чемпионка Джессика Лонг приехала в Россию, чтобы встретиться с матерью".

[sib-5] Forgotten pride Archived October 19, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, September 7, 2012, Siberian Times, Retrieved September 9, 2016

[6] "Honoring Jessica Long". Congressional Record. May 1, 2007. pp. E907–E908. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.

[st120915-7] "The Siberian parents who gave up Jessica Long as a new-born baby salute her heroic achievement". The Siberian Times. September 15, 2012. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2012.

[dtn-8] "Meet Swimmer Jessica Long". Disability Today Network. April 25, 2012. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.

[9] Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original
on September 13, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2011.

[10] "United States name 34 swimmers on Tokyo 2020 Paralympic team". www.insidethegames.biz. June 22, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2021.

[11] Gowdy, Kristen (April 14, 2022). "U.S. Paralympics Swimming Nominates 25 athletes to World Championship Roster". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.

[12] Overend, Riley (April 29, 2023). "U.S. Paralympics Swimming Selects 22 (Including Just 6 Men) for 2023 Worlds Roster". swimswam.com. Retrieved April 29, 2023.

[13] "Jessica Long Named Best Female Athlete with a Disability by ESPYs". Swimming World. Sports Publications, Inc. July 17, 2007. Archived from the original on April 12, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2016.

[Jessica_Long_Swimming-14] "Jessica Long". Team USA. United States Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.

[15] "2014 Pan Pacific Para Championships – 8/6/2014 to 8/10/2014 Results" (PDF). Team USA. U.S. Paralympic Association. Retrieved October 25, 2015.

[16] Keith, Braden (December 29, 2014). "2014 Swammy Awards: Para-Swimming Female Athlete of The Year Jessica Long". Swim Swam Partners, LLC. Universal Sports Network. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2015.

[17] "Glasgow 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships". Official website of the Paralympic Movement. The International Paralympic Committee (Swimming). Archived from the original on September 22, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.

[18] "'LONG WAY HOME: THE JESSICA LONG STORY'".

[19] Swimming World News
. February 8, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2021.

[20] Toyota TV Commercial, 'Upstream' Featuring Jessica Long [T1], retrieved August 29, 2021

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Early life

International swimming career

In popular media

See also

Bibliography

References

External links