While Simone Biles competes across town, Paralympic star Jessica Long rolls at swimming trials
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — She’s the face of her sport, and was among the best in the world before some athletes here even began competing. Now she’s in Minneapolis, aiming to earn a trip to Paris to lead the U.S. team again. And her name is not Simone Biles. Jessica Long is a Paralympic swimmer who has won a staggering 29 medals in five trips to the Paralympics since 2004. At the age of 12, Long was an underdog who unexpectedly won three gold medals at the 2004 Athens Paralympics. Now, 20 years later, she’s the most recognizable Paralympic swimmer in the country. Long will find out Sunday if she makes her sixth Paralympics.