00:01I've never wanted to go my whole life and just be good.
00:03I've always wanted to be great.
00:04What's crazy about swimming is it's constant training.
00:08It's hours upon hours a day to swim for so long just for a moment.
00:14But that gold medal lasts forever.
00:27My name is Jessica Long and I am a Paralympic swimmer.
00:36I think for me the hardest part is jumping in.
00:38When I step up right before I'm about to jump in and I'm fixing my cap and goggles and then
00:44I push off and everything melts away.
00:50Every problem, every thought I have, everything is just gone.
00:54And it's just me in the water.
01:00Being born with fibular hemamelia, I was missing all the bones in my lower legs.
01:04And every time I grew I had to get surgery.
01:07The only time I've actually felt disabled is during the recovery time.
01:11I was really active when I was little.
01:13I was just always moving around.
01:15But over time my parents were really afraid of a damage to my knees.
01:18And we found swimming.
01:28When I joined the team at 10 years old I could swim two strokes and it was so hard.
01:33But I love competing against girls with legs and here I am 14 years later still doing the
01:38sport that I love.
01:43You know all of my life with being an amputee.
01:45You know I've never really been able to afford slacking off or giving in.
01:50There are moments every couple weeks.
01:52When I start to lose faith and hope and I'm like I don't know how to swim anymore.
01:55It's not feeling right.
01:57But then I hit this beautiful set and it's like this effortless feeling.
02:01And those are some of the moments and the practices that I live for.
02:12Those moments are so rare.
02:13You have to soak in the success.
02:15Just don't get too fast.
02:18I need a moment in every single practice that I want to quit.
02:21One of my favorite quotes is, the only disability in life is a negative attitude.
02:26If I were to stop and really focus on what I don't have, I wouldn't be where I am today.
02:38In swimming I have to keep moving forward and be resilient.
02:42Just determined and tough.
02:45And in life I think the same thing.
02:52I'm really proud of my medal count.
02:54I mean 12 gold.
02:55I've worked really hard for that.
02:56No one handed that to me.
02:59I want to be remembered as the best Paralympic swimmer of all time.
03:03And I only have to win one more gold to do that.
03:07You can't buy greatness, work for it and earn it, and sacrifice for it.
03:16Luckily we have split that from up to up.
03:16You just cut yourself off, and you guys want to use that.
03:16so much. I'm
03:17in myetteman standing. Thank you.
03:17to the winner today and the winner of our club all of my other clubs, and we're
03:17going to make amal�도sk every but past a reminder of the lucky year. You did not
03:17really everyeday. You I want
03:17to buy thaters to catch up with your Thatepernalongs. What are you
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