By Scott
Goldblatt and Rebecca Wareham
Watch the full video interview
now.
Born of lower leg
abnormalities, and adopted from a Russian orphanage to American
parents, Jessica Long is a true success story.
While many people see a
disability, she sees anything but that. In fact, she could
not imagine her life any other way.
[Paralympic swimmer
Jessica Long poses for a portrait during the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team
Media Summit at the Palmer House Hilton (c) Getty
Images]
While excelling at a
number of sports Jessica’s parents, afraid for the well-being
of her knees, chose to pull her from her favorite –
gymnastics – and move her into the pool. Not
recognizing her talent in the pool, it took a stranger to point out
that she was fast enough to compete at the Olympic Trials, and at
age 12 she qualified for her first Paralympic Games. In fact, the
story did not end there and being the youngest athlete to
participate in the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, she brought
home three gold medals.
Jessica has very clearly
found her niche in the pool, and four years later she is the
current world record holder in 12 events (including one
relay). That is success, and while Jessica’s success
may have come to her quickly, it has only spawned further
aspirations.
One of which is the
number seven.
For Jessica, seven is
her sole focus, as she aims to capture (at a minimum) seven
individual gold medals in Beijing.
Watch a series of videos
as she talks about the number seven, what she would share –
other than a goal of seven golds - with Michael Phelps, and how the
Paralympics inspire her.
