Jessica Long is bringing home another gold medal.
The paralympic swimmer, 32, placed first in the 400m freestyle S8 on Wednesday, September 4 — the same event in which she won gold 20 years earlier in Athens at age 12. Great Britain’s Alice Tai nabbed the silver medal, while Italy’s Xenia Francesca Palazzo took home the bronze.
“I just wanted to win a medal. I think it’s so funny because in Tokyo after Morgan Stickney beat me, I said I was too old to ever do this event again, and here I am winning gold,” Long told NBC after the race, adding, “I can’t believe I won.”
Reflecting on her motivation to comPete at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, Long continued, “Right by my bed, I have a picture of my husband, and a picture of little Jess winning a gold medal. I won this gold when I was 12, and I just remember saying it’s now or never, and just tried my hardest.”
Long also celebrated her achievement in an Instagram post, which featured a photo of her winning gold at 12 and at 32. “This,” she captioned the image, which also had text that read, “20 years later,” in the background.
Team USA also celebrated Long’s win via their own Instagram upload, which featured the same photo.
“Decades of dominance,” the caption began alongside a goat emoji, referring to the acronym GOAT (Greatest of All Time). “@jessicatatianalong wins Paralympic gold in the 400m Freestyle S8, the same event she won gold in at Athens 2004.”
Fans in the comments section were thrilled to see Long take home the gold medal in her event, with one social media user writing, “So proud of you!! Congrats on such an amazing long legacy as a world champion swimmer! God bless you!”
Other fans also shared how Long has inspired them since she was a young kid, with one Instagram user adding, “Yeah! 🍾 amazing…I remember meeting you at the extremity Games in 2006 as a teenager 😁 Congrats on all your accomplishments.”
Long’s win brings her gold medal count up to 17 and her career total up to a whopping 30 medals. (She also has eight silver medals and five bronze medals.)
Ahead of the start of the 2024 Paralympic Games, Long thanked her loved ones and fans for all the support they’ve given her through the years.
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“My 6th Paralympics?! Someone pinch me,” she captioned a photo of herself standing in front of a Team USA backdrop. “When I started on this journey 20 years ago, I never could have dreamed of making it this far and continuing this long. A teaMMAte recently said to me, “Jess, the victory is that you’re still here.’ Yes, I am!”
She added, “I wouldn’t be here without all the support and love. Thank you beyond words to my husband, family and friends. You all mean the world to me. Win or lose … I am proud of myself, and for a long time I wasn’t. Let’s go round 6! Now, who’s ready to race?”
The 2024 Paralympics will conclude with the closing ceremony on Sunday, September 8.
