A biography for Jessica Longhasn’t been written yet.
“I fell in love with this idea of becoming a swimmer. I knew two strokes at the time but I went and I just loved racing these girls with legs.”
“There was a time I used to focus on just being skinny, and now I really think about how can I be strong.”
“As a 12-year-old when I won my first gold in Athens, I wanted people to know what the Paralympic games were.”
“For me, I don't kick because I don't have legs.”
“I think here in the U.S., we have a hard time accepting disabilities. That's why I think it's really good to share and let kids know that its not a disability, it's an ability. You have an ability to inspire others.”
“There are things out of my control and that fuels my fire.”
“All my life I have had to fight to catch up with people. But not in the water. That's the one place where everyone else is trying to keep up with me!”
“Each year the excitement and the build-up for the Paralympics Games has grown more and more.”
“Everyone had a loss or lost something during COVID. I allowed myself to take long baths, watch cheesy movies, and just tried to slow down, and I made sure to maintain my mental health.”
“Everyone had legs. Even my younger sisters both had legs. It was hard to comprehend what I did wrong: Why me? Then I found out about the Paralympics. It really did completely change my life.”
“I don't know anyone who has made it through this life with it being super easy. Life is hard.”
“Younger kids will sometimes tease me, and that bothers me a little, but eventually I don't care.”
“One athlete I absolutely love is Melissa Stockwell.”
“I was never bullied as a kid, and I didn't know that I was going to be bullied by adults because I park in handicapped. And I get it - I'm young and athletic - but I'm also missing legs.”
“I used to not wear shorts in the summer time. I just wanted to hide it and wear long pants. Then after the Paralympics, I saw how the other athletes handled missing an arm or a leg and they didn't care. That was what I needed to see.”
“I really want to share my story, but also make Paralympics more well known.”
“I always said, as soon as I stopped loving this sport is when I probably will retire.”
“If you're not in the right classification, you're basically stealing funding and opportunities from other people. This is not the NFL. There's only so much money to go around.”
“I enjoy my own company.”
“Here in Tokyo, this is one of my favorite Paralympics I've ever attended.”