Jessica Long - International Swimming Career

International Swimming Career

Long entered the international stage at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece, winning three gold medals in swimming. Only 12 years old at the time, Long was the youngest competitor on the U.S. Paralympic Team.

Long had 18 world record-breaking performances in 2006. Her performance at the 2006 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming World Championships in Durban, South Africa – nine gold medals in nine events (seven individual, two relay) and five world records – drew attention from outside the world of Paralympic sport. In 2006, Long became the first Paralympic athlete selected as the AAU's James E. Sullivan Award winner, given to the best amateur athlete in the United States. She was honored as the U.S. Olympic Committee's 2006 Paralympian of the year and Swimming World Magazine's 2006 Disabled Swimmer of the Year.

In 2008, Long won six medals at the Paralympics, including four gold. In addition to her four gold medals, Long set three new world records. 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 Keren Leibovitch.


Major Achievements:

  • 2012: Named U.S. Paralympic SportsWoman of the Year by the United States Olympic Committee
  • 2012: Five gold medals (100m butterfly, 400m freestyle, 100m breastroke, 200m indiv. medley, 100m freestyle); two silver medals (4x100m freestyle 34pts, 100m backstroke); bronze medal (4x100m medley 34pts) - International Paralympic Committee (IPC) - Paralympic Summer Games, London, England
  • 2012: Won ESPY for Female Athlete with a Disability
  • 2011: Named Disabled Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World magazine
  • 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: 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 4×100m freestyle relay, 34pts 4×100m medley relay) - Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships, Edmonton, Canada
  • 2010: Seven gold medals, two world records (100m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 100m backstroke, 100m butterfly, 200m individual medley – WR, 34pts 4×100m freestyle relay – WR, 34pts 4×100m medley relay); two silver medals (50m freestyle, 100m breaststroke) – International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming World Championships, Eindhoven, the Netherlands
  • 2010: Six gold medals (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 100m breaststroke, 100m butterfly, 100m breaststroke) – Can-Am National Championships, San Antonio, Texas
  • 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 4×100m freestyle relay) – International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming World Championships 25m, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • 2009: Seven gold medals, world record, S8 100m breaststroke – Summer Can-Am Championships, Edmonton, Alberta Canada
  • 2009: Seven gold medals (100m breaststroke, 100m butterfly, 50m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 400m freestyle, 50m breaststroke, 100m freestyle) – Spring Can-Am Championships, Gresham, Oregon
  • 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
  • 2008: Recipient of Juan Antonio Samaranch IOC Disabled Athlete Award
  • 2008: World record, S8 100m butterfly – Can-Am Championships, Victoria, Canada
  • 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.
  • 2007: Selected as USA Swimming's Disability Swimmer of the Year (Trischa L. Zorn Award)
  • 2007: Recipient of the ESPN Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award
  • 2007: Three world records (50m butterfly, 200m freestyle, 1500m freestyle) – GTAC Disability Open, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan
  • 2007: Three world records (200m backstroke, 400m individual medley, 800m freestyle) – Spring Can-Am Swimming Championships, Montreal, Canada
  • 2006: Named winner of 77th AAU James E. Sullivan Award
  • 2006: Second place Rock Climbing Speed Climbing – Extremity Games
  • 2006: Named U.S. Olympic Committee Paralympian of the Year
  • 2006: Named Disabled Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World magazine
  • 2006: Selected as USA Swimming's Disability Swimmer of the Year (Trischa L. Zorn Award)
  • 2006: Nine gold medals (100m freestyle – WR, 100m butterfly – WR, 200m individual medley – WR, 400m freestyle – WR, 34pts 4×100m freestyle relay – WR, 50m freestyle, 100m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, 34pts 4×100m medley relay) – International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming World Championships, Durban, South Africa
  • 2006: Two world records (100m butterfly, 200m individual medley) – Belgian Open, Antwerp, Belgium
  • 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: U.S. Olympic Committee Female Athlete of the Month – January 2006
  • 2006: Two world records (100m butterfly, 200m individual medley) – Blaze Sports Georgia Open, Atlanta, Georgia
  • 2005: Five gold medals, bronze medal, two world records, and named Swimmer of the Meet – 2005 U.S. Paralympics Open Swimming Championships, Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • 2004: Three gold medals, 100m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay - Paralympic Games, Athens, Greece

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