Paralympic athlete.- BY: Florencia de la Cuadra.

Jessica Long (born February 29, 1992) is a Russian-born United States Paralympic swimmer from Baltimore, Maryland. She is the current world record holder in 13 Paralympic events, including one as part of a relay team.

Early Life

Long was born in 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.

Jessica was born "Tatiana Kirillova" in the city of Bratsk. At the time she was born, her biological parents were unwed, 17 and 18 years old. 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.

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. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-ysDS5SjCs