While Simone Biles competes across town, Paralympic star Jessica Long rolls at swimming trials

MINNEAPOLIS -- She’s the look of her sport, and was among the champion successful the satellite earlier immoderate athletes present adjacent began competing. Now she’s successful Minneapolis, aiming to gain a travel to Paris to pb the U.S. squad — again.

And her sanction is not Simone Biles.

Jessica Long is simply a Paralympic swimmer who has won a staggering 29 medals successful 5 trips to the Paralympics since 2004.

At the property of 12, Long was an underdog who unexpectedly won 3 golden medals astatine the 2004 Athens Paralympics. Now, 20 years later, she’s the astir recognizable Paralympic swimmer successful the country.

“And present I americium 32,” Long said. “I consciousness 32, I’m excited to inactive beryllium here, inactive beryllium a portion of it.”

She’s done a Super Bowl commercialized with squad sponsor Toyota and she’s featured connected a Paralympic advertisement wrapped astir a Grand Highlander extracurricular the aquatics halfway connected the field of the University of Minnesota, wherever the swimming trials are being held.

Long was calved with fibular hemimelia, a familial illness that occurs during gestation and near her without fibulas, ankles and astir bones successful her feet. At 18 months old, her legs were amputated conscionable beneath the knees.

After each race, Long gets retired of the pool, sits successful a folding seat alongside 1 of the outer lanes and dries off. Sometimes if the adjacent vigor is astir to start, she pauses until it begins earlier putting backmost connected her prosthetic legs with achromatic Hoka shoes. Then she walks distant and preps for her adjacent event.

“I ne'er wanted to beryllium conscionable bully oregon great, I truly privation to beryllium a legend,” Long said. “It’s 1 happening to get to the top, but I’ve been moving truthful hard to enactment astatine the apical for truthful long.”

Erin Popovich was Long’s teammate successful 2004 and 2008 and is present the subordinate manager of Paralympic swimming for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

“It’s breathtaking to spot conscionable the longevity of her career,” Popovich said. “Swimming is simply a hard sport, and to beryllium capable to decently support your assemblage implicit that play of clip is truly incredible."

Over the 3 days of trials, Long is competing successful aggregate races each day. She said Thursday was her toughest aft the 100-meter breaststroke and 100-meter backstroke, adjacent though she placed archetypal successful her people for both.

“They’re decidedly the 2 that my assemblage conscionable struggles a batch much with, particularly rotation and stuff, conscionable that snappiness and quickness,” Long said.

While preparing, she relies connected her enactment strategy of her husband, household and teammates. She’s from Baltimore, but lives distant from household successful Colorado Springs astatine the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center, wherever athletes person entree to a 45,000-square-foot aquatics center.

But the astir important happening it provides is simply a assemblage done its nonmigratory programs. Long trained with teammates McKenzie Coan, Julia Gaffney and Colleen Young starring up to the trials.

Long thrives nether pressure, but during the Tokyo Paralympics, contempt winning six medals, she struggled mentally with the lack of her household and closest supporters. Having a assemblage backmost successful attendance and proceeding the cheers arsenic she makes her mode to the starting artifact provides a consciousness of comfort.

“When the lights travel up and it’s clip to contention she’s ever acceptable to spell and acceptable to excel,” Popovich said.

On Sunday, 21 pistillate and 12 antheral athletes volition beryllium selected for the U.S. Paralympic aquatics team. Long has worked hard to enactment herself successful presumption to adhd to her legacy, but it’s not conscionable astir earning much medals.

“I decidedly privation the Paralympics to,” Long paused to cheer connected a teammate, “to proceed to grow. I deliberation we inactive person a agelong mode to go.”

Public and attraction has gravitated toward Biles and the gymnastics trials happening crossed municipality astatine the Target Center — the airdrome is decorated with banners promoting the gymnasts, portion the para athletes get scant attention.

Long isn’t complaining astir that, but does anticipation Olympic and Paralympic swimming trials tin yet beryllium held together. The Olympic aquatics trials already wrapped up — they were successful Indianapolis.

“If different countries tin fig retired (how to harvester trials), I deliberation that needs to beryllium our adjacent move,” she said.

Long intends to “slowly retire” pursuing the 2028 Los Angeles Games and await the emergence of the adjacent Team USA star.

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Amanda Vogt is simply a pupil successful the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism astatine Penn State.

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games