PARIS (September 5, 2024) -- Jessica Long has etched her name in stone as one of the greatest athletes to ever compete in the Paralympics. The former AAU Sullivan Award winner continued to add to her legacy during this year's games. 

AAU Alumni and AAU Sullivan Award Winners are showing up on the biggest stage. The athletes who got their start right here in AAU events are on full display in Paris.

One of the greatest to ever do it! 77th AAU Sullivan Award winner, Jessica Long (2006), continues to amaze us in the pool. Long has captured her 30th career Paralympic medal as she won gold in the women's 400-meter freestyle S8. This is her 17th Paralympic gold medal and her 4th in this race. She will go down as one of the greatest of all time!

She almost didn’t compete in the race following a silver medal finish in Tokyo but Long’s idol and director of U.S. Paralympics Swimming Erin Popovich provided the encouragement she needed to return to the 400 free.
 
“After Tokyo, I said to reporters, ‘I’m never doing that race again’ and here we are three years later. It was Erin Popovich who talked to me in December and said Jess, you need to get back into training for the 400 and I’m so glad she gave me that push. I got sixth in the backstroke, and fourth in the IM and I’m just really thankful and grateful. I got to stand on the podium but there’s so many people that should have been up there with me,” she said.

She acknowledged that winning that 30th medal was important to her, and she accomplished what she set out to do. “I wanted to get to 30. That’s the goal. It’s so hard to prove can I do it again and again. This is my sixth Paralympic Games,” she said. “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.”

We are continually blown away by our AAU Family competing in this year's Olympic and Paralympic Games!

With AAU, there are Limitless Possibilities. Who will win next? #ItAllStartsHere