After 30th Paralympic Medal, Jessica Long Eyes L.A. 2028 ‘Farewell’
Wednesday marked Paralympic medal No. 30 in the storied career of American Jessica Long. It also offered a chance for the 32-year-old to plot an end date for that career in Los Angeles four years on.
“That’s my farewell,” Long said of 2028 in Los Angeles. “That’s where I’m saying goodbye, on home soil.”
Long will do that as one of the most decorated Paralympians ever. Wednesday in Paris, she won the women’s S8 400 freestyle, her 17th career Paralympic gold to go with eight silver and five bronze. She first won this event at the 2004 Games in Athens as a 12-year-old, then again in 2008 and 2012.
That distance of time – from the precocious child from a Russian orphanage by way of North Baltimore Aquatic Club to an adult at her sixth Paralympics with one of the sport’s most formidable legacies – was not lost on Long.
“I’m literally so proud of this,” she said. “I’m proud of my very first Paralympic gold medal when I was 12 years old, and I won by a tenth of a second. And this one, to me, is probably right up there. …
“At the end of the day, this (medal) will probably go into my closet, right? It’s amazing, but this doesn’t define me. It can, but I want people to see my work ethic and I want them to see how long I’ve gone, and I want them to be proud of that – and just the fact that I’m still here. I think that’s a gold medal to me.”
The medal was the first for Long at these Games. She finished sixth in the S8 100 backstroke and fourth in the SM8 200 individual medley. The latter led to a terse exchange in the mixed zone. (“I have 29 medals, what else do I need to prove to any of you?,” was Long’s reaction. “Obviously fourth place doesn’t feel good for anyone, but I’ve stood on top of that podium 16 times.”)
Decades of dominance 🐐@JessicaLong wins gold in the 400m Freestyle S8, the same event she won gold in at Athens 2004.#ParisParalympics pic.twitter.com/ZhWpNlTmXx
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) September 4, 2024
The tone was rosier after that total rose to 17 at Paris La Defense Arena. It’s been reciprocated from competitors in her classification, many of whom either credit her as an inspiration or in part define their Games in relation to how they’ve done against Long.
“When you are racing her, you know you are racing one of the best Paralympians in the world,” said Brock Whiston, winner of the SM8 200 IM. “So to come away and beat her, it’s pretty successful.”
Alice Tai, who won the S8 100 back and was second to Long in the 400 free, was even more effusive.
“I’m hoping Jess keeps swimming after this. I feel she will,” the British swimmer said. “As my times keep dropping, I’m getting close to her, and we just keep racing. I love a race. She’s such an amazing rival. First off, she’s a legend. She just won her 30th Paralympic medal, and now she’s won gold at every Games since Athens 2004 when she was 12. Just to be next to her in a lane, to be in an event with her, is crazy.
“I have so much respect for her. I’m so happy she won. If anyone was going to win it, I wanted it to be her or me. It means a lot to her. She has brought para sport and para swimming up from when no one would come to watch, and now we’ve got a packed crowd watching and cheering. A lot of that is down to her. She hadn’t medaled in the first couple of events, and people forgot what a legend she was. I had someone ask me if she wasn’t a good swimmer anymore, and that really upset me, because she’s phenomenal, she’s everyone’s hero here.
“When I had my amputation, she messaged me straight away to ask if I needed any help or advice. She’s been a really great rival and great helping me through one of the hardest parts of my life.”
Long’s impact has been undeniable. Her longevity has been spectacular, even by Paralympic standards, where competing into the 40s or 50s is common in lower classes and when disabilities can strike at later ages.
Paris is yet another chapter in Long’s lengthy story. Adding a gold medal is only part of what she has hoped to achieve along the way.
“My goal as a little girl has always been to inspire,” she said. “I had every reason to give up. I was adopted. I was put up in a Russian orphanage, adopted, born without my legs. I’ve had countless surgeries, and there were so many days I didn’t like myself or didn’t feel like I was enough. I wasn’t enough with my birth mum, and I did meet her.
“But I think, for me, I wouldn’t change it for the world. It’s made me who I am. I hoped to impact just one life.”