Jessica Long

Jessica Long

Long at the 2016 Paralympics
Personal information
Birth name	Tatiana Olegovna Kirillova
Full name	Jessica Tatiana Long
National team	United States
Born	(1992-02-29) February 29, 1992 (age 25) 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.org
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Butterfly, Backstroke, Breastroke, Freestyle
Classifications	S8/SB7/SM8
Club	North Baltimore Aquatic Club
Coach	Erik Posegay
Medal record Representing the  United States Paralympic Games 2004 Athens 100 m freestyle S8 2004 Athens 400 m freestyle S8 2004 Athens 4×100 m freestyle 34pts 2008 Beijing 100 m freestyle S8 2008 Beijing 400 m freestyle S8 2008 Beijing 100 m butterfly S8 2008 Beijing 200 m indiv. medley SM8 2012 London 100  butterfly S8 2012 London 400 m freestyle S8 2012 London 100 m breaststroke SB7 2012 London 200 m indiv. medley SM8 2012 London 100 m freestyle S8 2016 Rio de Janeiro 200 m indiv. medley SM8 2008 Beijing 100 m backstroke S8 2012 London 4x100 m freestyle 34 pts 2012 London 100 m backstroke S8 2016 Rio de Janeiro 100 m breaststroke SB7 2016 Rio de Janeiro 400 m freestyle S8 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×100 m freestyle 34pts 2008 Beijing 100 m breaststroke SB7 2012 London 4x100 m medley 34 pts 2016 Rio de Janeiro 100 m butterfly S8 2016 Rio de Janeiro 100 m backstroke S8 IPC Swimming World Championships 2010 Eindhoven 100 m backstroke S8 2010 Eindhoven 100 m freestyle S8 2010 Eindhoven 400 m freestyle S8 2010 Eindhoven 400 m butterfly S8 2010 Eindhoven 400 m medley SM8 2010 Eindhoven 4x100 m freestyle relay 34pts 2010 Eindhoven 4x100 m medley relay 34pts 2015 Glasgow 100 m breaststroke SB7 2015 Glasgow 200 m medley SM8 2015 Glasgow 400 m frestyle S8 2010 Eindhoven 100 m breaststroke SB7 2010 Eindhoven 50 m freestyle S8 2015 Glasgow 100 m freestyle S8 2015 Glasgow 100 m backstroke S8 2015 Glasgow 4x100 m Freestyle Relay 34pts

5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) (with prosthetics)

130 lb (59 kg) (with prosthetics)

Jessica Tatiana Long (born February 29, 1992) is a Russian-born United States Paralympic swimmer from Baltimore, Maryland, who competes in S8 and SB7 category events. She held multiple world records and has won multiple gold medals over four Summer Paralympics. In total Long has won 23 Paralympic medals.

Long was born Tatiana Olegovna Kirillova in Bratsk, Siberia and adopted at the age of 13 months. Because of fibular hemimelia, her lower legs were amputated when she was 18 months old. 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 of the Year with a Disability. At the time she was born, her biological mother and father were unwed teenagers, 17 and 18 years old respectively. They later married and had three more children, one of whom is also disabled. Long's adoptive brother, Joshua, was adopted at the same time from the same Siberian orphanage.

Long entered the international stage at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece, winning three gold medals in swimming. Aged twelve at the time, she was the youngest competitor on the U.S. Paralympic Team. 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.

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 where she won nine gold medals for her participation in seven individual medleys and two relays. She also held five world records which made her known 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. 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.