PARIS (Sept. 5, 2024) – Thirty-two-year-old Jessica Long earned her 30th Paralympic Games medal, winning the gold medal in the Women’s Swimming 400m freestyle S8 event at the Paralympic Games Paris 2024. In the final at Paris La Defense Area on Tuesday, Long posted a time of 4:48.74 to capture the gold medal, beating her competition by nearly four seconds.
“I wanted to get to 30. That’s the goal,” said Long. “It’s so hard to prove can I do it again and again. This is my sixth Paralympic Games. I was proud of my first Paralympic medal when I was 12 years old and I won by a tenth of a second and this to me is probably right up there. Just going back and showing my friends and family that I won a gold medal, there’s nothing better.”
Long entered the Paris Games with a slew of momentum, coming off two gold medals in the 2023 world championships in the Women’s 100m Butterfly S8 and 200m Individual Medley Relay SM8. Long’s gold medal in the 400m Freestyle S8 adds to her historic Paralympic Games résumé, standing as the second-most decorated U.S. Paralympian in history now with 30 medals. Additionally, Long has now remarkably won a gold medal in each of her six Paralympic Games.
Outside of the Paralympic Games, Long is equally prolific, with 54 medals to her name in world championship events (37 gold, 15 silver and 2 bronze).
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