Latest / Hurdle with Emily Abbate / 258. Jessica Long, Swimmer & 16x Paralympic Champion

Transcript

258. Jessica Long, Swimmer & 16x Paralympic Champion · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: You know, I didn't start off swimming thinking I was
• 0:01
  Speaker 1: going to wing gold medals or awards or have a
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Super Bowl commercial. I truly started because it gave me
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: this freedom that nothing else ever could give me. Right
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: every day, I still walk into heavy prosthetics every day.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: I'm still reminded that I'm an amputee, but in the water,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: it's still a place that I'm waitless no matter what.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: Hey, everyone, Emily and Badi coming in with Season fourteen
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: of Hurdle Well this focus podcast where I connect with
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: everyone from your favorite athletes to top experts and industry
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: CEOs about their highest highs, toughest moments, and everything in between.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: We all go through hurdles in life, and my goal
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: through these discussions is to empower you to better navigate
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: yours and move with intention so that you can stride
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: towards your own big potential and of course have some
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: fun along the way. Season fourteen, Episode two hundred and
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: fifty eight.
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: This is crazy.
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: There are now officially more than six hundred episodes in
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: the entire catalog. I feel like it has been no
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: time at all, and also that I've been doing this forever,
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: and I do think that at the top of a
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: new season, it's appropriate for me to give a little
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: bit of context on who I am what we're doing here.
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: My name again Emil a Body. I live in Brooklyn.
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: I'm in my mid thirties. I am an avid marathoner.
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: I have a slew of different certifications, including my CPC
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: Certified Professional Coach. You can liken that to a life coach,
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: CPT Certified Personal Trainer. I'm Level one Precision Nutrition Certified,
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: and I'm also a UESCA.
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: Certified run Coach.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: And I got all of these certifications because I want
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: to have more informed, safe, considerate conversations that really serve you,
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: the hurdlers, my audience.
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: I am a.
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: Veteran journalist, previously the fitness editor Atself magazine, and I
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: started the show almost six years ago now on a
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: mission to help women everywhere live healthier, happier, more motivated lives.
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: And so we're back with season fourteen.
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: If you asked me if I thought that we would
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: be here almost six years ago, the answer is, oh,
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: my god, no way. But I could not be happier.
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: There are hurdlers in almost two hundred countries. Truly, I
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: feel like the luckiest person alive to be able to
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: combine my passion with what feels like my purpose and
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: bring you hurdle week after week. Now it's time for
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: me to talk about Today's a guest.
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: Jessica Long.
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: She is a Paralympic medalist, but that feels like I'm
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: not doing her enough justice. Jess Long is a sixteen
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: time Paralympic champion swimmer. She's also a speaker and author,
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: and she was born without life, adopted from Russia at
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: thirteen months old, and she talks all about that journey
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: today as well has her journey to the Paralympics, with
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: twenty five different surgeries on her legs along the way.
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: Jess is undeniably an inspiration. So many people were exposed
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: to her story via the twenty twenty one Toyota Super
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: Bowl commercial, which we talk about in today's episode, and man,
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: I am just so excited for you all to get
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: to know her better via hurdle. Jess, thanks for your time.
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: You are a light and to all of you, thanks
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: for coming back season after season, episode after episode. Now
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: I do want to make sure that I do some
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: housekeeping at the top.
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: Of a new season.
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: If you're not yet following along with Hurdle on social
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: It's over at Hurdle podcast. Hurdle also has a weekly
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: newsletter called the Weekly Hurdle. It comes out every Friday
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: and it is absolutely free. You get the same inspiration
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: motivation that you love from the show oh directly in
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: your own box, plus a lot of my go to picks,
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: what I'm listening to, what I'm reading, what I'm watching,
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: and gear favorites and more. So make sure you subscribe.
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: The link to do that is in the show notes.
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: Last thing listener questions. I love them, I love to
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: answer them, and I need them to bring you the
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: goodness every five minute Friday. So if you have a
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: second and you have something in your mind, no topic
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: is off limits, ask me a question. The link to
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: do so is in the show notes. With that season fourteen,
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: let's get to it. Let's get to hurtling. Today, I
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: am sitting down with Jessica Loong. She's a sixteen time
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: Paralympic champion swimmer. How you doing today, jess so good?
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: How are you so good?
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: I'm so excited that we were able to make this
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: happen today. I saw you speak for the first time
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: despite knowing much about you at the espnW summit. I
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: was so motivated and I knew instantaneously that I needed
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: to have you on Hurdle.
• 5:12
  Speaker 4: Thank you so much.
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: That was I still remember that you were wearing this
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: amazing like suit outfit and I was like, where'd you
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: get it from? But no, thank you so much for
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: having me. It truly is such an honor to be
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: on your podcast.
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: It's such an honor to have you here, especially because
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: you're a busy woman. Right now, we're prepping for Paris
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: twenty twenty four.
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: How's it going.
• 5:30
  Speaker 4: It's good.
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: It's so wild because I think all of us athletes,
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: some of the girls who've just been like, there's a
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: reason the Olympics and Paralympics aren't five years, and there's
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: a reason it's not three years, Like.
• 5:39
  Speaker 4: Four is a perfect cycle. So we are a year out.
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: It's been a little stressful, but at the same time
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: super exciting to see my family and friends get excited
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: to actually be present in the in the stands.
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, firstly, let's talk about why that four year cycle
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: is perfect in your eyes.
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think five years is just a bit too long,
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: and I think that was the struggle obviously going into
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: Tokyo with the pandemic and the postponement. It was just
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: it was that extra year was just such a struggle.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: And again I think everyone learned to control the controllables,
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: but at the same time, it was just too long.
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: And then here right now we're dealing with we're a
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: year short. So they followed back up on the same cycle,
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: so we we've lost a year going into Paris.
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: So instead of four years, we're three.
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: And right now, in my mind, I'm like, okay, I
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: have about a year, but two years would be great
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: because there's such a thing as like post blues, and
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: I think every athlete kind of goes through their own
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: just struggles after a Paralympics or Olympics, just because you're
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: out of routine. But yeah, it's been it's been a
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: little challenging. But at the same time, one year it's
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: like one year.
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: To go, one year to go, one year to go.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: For you, Now, what does a typical day of training
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: look like?
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so I actually have World Championships in about a month.
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: I'll be competing in Manchester, England, so that's really exciting.
• 6:55
  Speaker 4: But right now for.
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: Me swimming, you know, it's it's honestly, just amazing if
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: I get there. To be honest, it's been just a
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: struggle for sure. I've been doing this for twenty years.
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: But right now it's kind of finding a group of
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: girls to swim with. I think that's kind of where
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: I'm at right now. But typical training, I mean, I
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: do pilates three times a week. I love pilates. Pilates
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: translates over to the pool for me so well.
• 7:18
  Speaker 4: I swim every day.
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: Sometimes I swim twice a day, and I have weight
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: training about two to three times a week. But yeah,
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: it's a lot. I'm always I feel like I'm always busy,
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: I'm always sore. I love my pt guy. He also
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: helps massage my muscles. So we're right now, are just
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: taking a day by day and honestly, I sometimes I'm like, Wow,
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: this is truly the best job.
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: Oh my god, the best job because you get to
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: combine your passion and your pursuit for what really excites you.
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: Right now, you mentioned the difficulty that went hand in
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: hand with not only adding a year to that Olympic cycle,
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: but the post Paralympic blues. Talk to me about how
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: that has affected you because you've been through many Paralympics
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: at this point.
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, you know, I think for each individual it's
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: it can be however long, right, we're so used to
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: being in such a such a routine. And I before
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: the Tokyo Paralympics, I actually moved out to the Olympic
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, So I left
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: my husband for a year and I trained with a
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: great group of girls, a great team out there, and
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: you truly do become family, and you're in this routine
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: and I think, I mean, I don't know about you,
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: but I love routine like I thrive off a routine.
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: So when everything's just kind of done right, you train
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: for this major competition, there's so much going on. It's
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: an intense ten day competition. You're hopefully winning medals, but
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: if you're not, you know, there's so many different things happening,
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: highs and lows. So when you just come back home
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: and the celebration stops, you kind of just don't really
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: know how to keep moving forward. And I think that
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: was the most difficult thing. And I was so surprised
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: even after Tokyo, because I had been through five Paralympic Games,
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: so I was like, I'm well prepared, I've got a therapist,
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: I know what to expect. But if anything, I think
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: Tokyo for me, the post Blues was one of the hardest,
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: just because you know, there was so much excitement around
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: the Super Bowl commercial and the Paralympic movement itself, but
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: it was also just a really really big struggle just
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: to find a way to keep moving forward. And I
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: struggle to swim by myself, you know, being thirty one
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: years old, I used to be able to get in
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: and do two to three hour practices by myself, but
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: right now that's been the struggle is just you know,
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: I've done everything I've ever wanted to, so I've had
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: to just really readjust and reset my goals. I mean
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: a lot of I mean every month I feel like
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: I'm like, Okay, there's a purpose. There's a purpose, Like
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: you know, the purpose is Paris. But it's been really challenging,
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: and I think every athlete goes through something, and it's
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: been really really special the last couple months. As we're prepared,
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: like we're doing some proma stuff right now for Paris
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: to see some other Olympians and Paralympians and being like,
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: how are you, and they're like, I'm still kind of struggling,
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: and I'm like, oh my gosh, me too. So just
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: that vulnerability piece is really powerful.
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: That's so powerful and special that you have have that
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: community where you feel safe to talk about your feelings
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: and thank you for sharing your sentiments about how it
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: felt for you.
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: After Tokyo.
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: You mentioned the super Bowl commercial for those that are
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: out of the loop on how epic that was. Tell
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: us a little bit about the commercial that you're talking about.
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, So I was a part of Toyota's
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: upstream commercial for the Super Bowl, and that was just
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: one of the most exciting things, right just because you know,
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: we're talking about post blues and after the twenty sixteen
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: you know, I went through the same thing, post blues,
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: and one of the things that got me out of
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: that funk, that kind of depression was giving back to
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: an all girls swimming team and that really was really amazing,
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: and slowly I just started to fall back in love
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: with the sport. And then all of a sudden, Toyota
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: was like, hey, we'd love to partner with you and
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: just for their Olympic and Paralympic campaign, and then all
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: of a sudden they were like, we also really would
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: love to we have this idea for a commercial, and
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: I got picked for one of the Start Your Impossible campaigns,
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: which ended up turning out to be the Super Bowl
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: commercial and basically I'm swimming through my life. We actually
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: filmed it in South Africa. My husband came and we
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: turned it into our honeymoon. But I think for me,
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: one of the biggest things was, you know, I'm so
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: used to my life right, being adopted from Russia, being
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: born without my legs. I've overcome so many different challenges right,
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: every day is a challenge, but there was something so
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: crazy about having the whole you know, the world kind
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: of see it, and it felt very vulnerable. It felt
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: kind of scary. I remember thinking, oh my gosh, like
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: this is this is so crazy. But I think what's
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: wild is I was so close to retiring in twenty sixteen,
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: and you know, I think that's also another really important
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: lesson that when you're so close to giving up, you know,
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: just hang on a little tighter because you never know
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: what goods, what good could come from just hanging on.
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: And I'm so glad I did, because you know, I
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: to have the world see my story I think was
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: huge for me, but also huge for the Paralympic movement,
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: which is what I'm so passionate about for sure.
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: And without your legs, let's talk a little bit about that.
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: Give the hurdler some context so that they can understand
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: why to date you have had more than twenty five
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: surgeries on your legs.
• 12:13
  Speaker 4: Yeah, that's a lot.
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: So I was given up for adoption in a Siberian
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: orphanage by a sixteen year old Russian girl. And due
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: to my legs, which I was born with something called
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: fibular hemimilia, so I was missing the fibula bone in
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: both legs and I actually like have no ligaments in
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: my knees, so I am a below knee amputee. But
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: before that, I lived about a thirteen months in a
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: Russian orphanage. And then around that time, my now parents,
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: Steven Beth, had two kids. They wanted a larger family,
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: so they looked into adoption and they saw a picture
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: of me, and they just knew that I was the
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: child they were meant to adopt, and they decided if
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: they were going to go to Siberia, Russia, they were
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: going to get another little child in needs. So they
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: got a little boy and we came to the US
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: in March of nineteen ninety five. We actually just celebrated
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: our like thirty thirtieth year.
• 13:04
  Speaker 4: Like a Gotcha day.
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: I didn't even know that was like a thing, but
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: my brother really wanted to celebrate that in March. But
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: it's really amazing because they ended up having two more kids,
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: so we are that big family of six. But growing up,
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: one thing with my legs was the bone would keep growing.
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: And it's actually wild because my parents when they adopted me,
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: they knew I had leg deformities, but they never actually
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: saw my legs. So when my dad went to Russia
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: to get me, it was like completely blind faith, just
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: he knew that this little meat, this little girl in
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: Russia needed to be adopted. But with fibulary from Amelia,
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: the bone just kept growing, so it would kind of
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: just get really really pointy, almost like like a pointy
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: lollipop or something. And it had come through my skin
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: quite a few times growing up, Like I remember this
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: one time I was swimming at my grandparents and I
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: looked down at my leg and like water was just
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: coming out of my leg and I could see the
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: bone coming through my skin, and I was like, at
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: this point, I think I was eight years old, and
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: I just remember thinking, I don't even want to tell
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: my family, just because I want to keep swimming.
• 14:03
  Speaker 4: For the rest of the day, because I knew I.
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: Was going to have to go back and for surgery
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: and recover for a month and get fitted for a
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: new set of prosthetics and have to learn how to
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: walk all over again. So I just kept on playing,
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: and I remember at the end of that day, I
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: was like, Okay, I think we should go to the hospital.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: Oh my god, Yeah, I don't know anything else.
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: What a special story, though, to hear about your adoptive
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: parents knowing that you were theirs, despite what others may
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: have seen as something that could have been troubling or
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: a hassle or just something to deal with. What did
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: that foundationally teach you from a young age.
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, I'm so incredibly grateful for my parents
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: and my family, just because they were so incredible at
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: allowing me to just do it myself, and I really
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: really wanted to do everything on my own, and you know,
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: they knew when to step in.
• 14:57
  Speaker 4: But they also knew.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: When to take a step back, and I think that's
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: so important. And I don't have kids yet, but I've
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: seen the difference in the Paralympic movement, where there's parents
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: who do everything for someone with one arm to the
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: point where they can't tie their shoes with one hand,
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: where you have other arm amputees who can, right. So
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: I'm just really grateful that when I would fall down
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: or I would lose a leg, my parents kind of
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: knew to step back. And they actually again this crazy story.
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: We were at the ocean and I flew down some
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: steps and I'm in my little hot pink wheelchair and
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: I think I just had a surgery, which is why
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: I was in my wheelchair, And they said they were
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: like they laugh when they tell the story, but they're like,
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: you know, we look like such bad parents because we
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: knew not to touch you. You lost your legs in
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: the process, you fell out of your chair, and we
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: were close enough that if you needed help, we would,
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: you know, step in. But they said, I guess some
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: random stranger tried to come up and help me, and
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: I was like, get away.
• 15:45
  Speaker 4: I got it. But I don't know.
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: I've just always had this determination and they allowed my
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: determination to grow, especially in sport. You know, they knew
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: nothing about swimming. You know, I joined swimming because I
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: didn't have to wear my prosthetics. You know, my prosthetics
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: are really heavy, and at the time, I was growing
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: so much that I could never get a comfortable fit,
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: and they just I was in a like almost a
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: constant state of pain growing up until I was done growing.
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: It was very painful, and I'm very grateful for them
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: for just allowing me to be determined and they knew
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: and a step in.
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, enabling you to make your own mistakes quote unquote,
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: understanding that these mistakes would actually teach you something to
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: move forward with, teach you something that you could take
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: with you as you continued on your journey. It's so
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: interesting to hear about the why swimming really hooked you,
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: and that is because of this weightlessness, this place where
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: you didn't need to be worried about your legs aside
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: from it feeling good in your body. How would you
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: say you were from the get go getting into the pool.
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I'd always loved to swim. Every Sunday,
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: I'd swim at my grandparents back your pool, we went
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: over there for lunch. And I say this a lot,
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: but you know, I have memories of my family actually
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: pulling out of the driveway as I'm still swimming, you know,
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: yelling at me from the car, like Jess, we are
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: leaving you like come on. Like I just always wanted
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: to swim. And it's so funny because I had this
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: like obsession with mermaids, and I actually I have a
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: children's book coming out later this year called The Mermaid
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: with No Tail, but I always thought it was a mermaid,
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: and I think I could really relate to the little
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: mermaid because she wanted legs, and I was like, oh
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: my gosh. All my life I had wanted legs. But
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: for me, in the water, it was a place that
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: I felt like I just felt weightless, that it was
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: okay if I didn't have legs, that I was going
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: to be okay. And I joined the swim two when
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: I was ten, and again I was always the girl
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: with no legs. You know, it was the title that
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: I was used to, and you know, why don't you
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: have any legs? And people always asking me what happened,
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: and I'm thinking, I have no idea. You know, I
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: had no control over this. But I knew that I
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: wanted to be stronger even if I was the girl
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: with no legs. I wanted to be stronger than the boys.
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: I wanted to be stronger than the girl.
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: You know.
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: I wanted to be so incredibly powerful. So for me,
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: when I showed up to the swim team, I instantly
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: fell in love with it.
• 17:59
  Speaker 4: I was great. You know.
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: I didn't start off swimming thinking I was gonna wing
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: gold medals or awards or have a Super Bowl commercial.
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: I truly started because it gave me this freedom that
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: nothing else ever could give me. Right every day, I
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: still walk into heavy prosthetics every day. I'm still reminded
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: that I'm an amputee, but in the water, it's still
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: a place that I'm waitless no matter what.
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: The girl with no legs. How did that make you
• 18:21
  Speaker 3: feel then?
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: And is it any different than how that designation makes
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: you feel now?
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: This is such a good question. I really love this question.
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: So growing up, I did not want to be the
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: girl with no legs. I was embarrassed. I don't even
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: think I wore shorts until after the Paralympics, when I
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: saw other people with disabilities and I was very embarrassed.
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: I hated when people stared. I even remember, you know,
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: being in the grocery store and having parents point and
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: look at me and telling their kids to look at me.
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: And you know, I've recently even shared this with my mom,
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: but I was like, you know, mom, I actually never
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: saw anyone that looked like me.
• 18:58
  Speaker 4: Even at my prosthetic appointments. All of them were.
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: Way older and they couldn't even walk, and sometimes they
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: would be missing one leg, but never two. But now
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: it's so funny because I have different sets of legs.
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: I probably have about five, I think about four or
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: five sets of legs, and one of my sets of
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: legs looks. We call them bone legs, so their carbon fiber,
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: their pole legs, and they just I think you saw them.
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: But they make me feel so incredibly powerful, to the
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: point where I'm like, yeah, I am the girl with
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: no legs, and you can go ahead and stare.
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: We love that.
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: We love empowerment, and I love how seeing other people
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: with disabilities made you feel more accepted and proud to
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: own yours. Now you are doing that for other individuals,
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: other disabled people around the world.
• 19:47
  Speaker 3: How does that make you feel? Being this person.
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: Now, we so often hear as you felt, in order
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: to be her, you need to see her and they
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: see you.
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: How does that make you feel so incredible?
• 19:57
  Speaker 4: But also just so excited for the feutre.
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: Of sports and women's sports and the Paralympics. And you know,
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: I think so often people ask me why am I
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: still swimming? Right, I'm aiming for my fifth or my
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: sixth Paralympics, and I love it. But also I think
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: it's the bigger picture, right, It's the big picture of
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: women's sports. It's women's sports with Paralympics added, right, this
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: this whole idea of being inclusive, And I think that's
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: why I'm so incredibly excited to be a part of ally.
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: I think that just keeps me going. And you know,
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: when I was little, I remember seeing other other girls
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: with disabilities and thinking, you know, one day, you know,
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: I'm going to be just like them. And then one
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: day the Paralympics is going to be just as big
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: as the Olympics, or just as big as you know,
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: just on TV, right, we never saw really a lot
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: of the Paralympics. I think they used to do an
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: hour special. So for me, some of the motivation right now,
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: to keep swimming and to keep doing what I'm doing
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: is to continue to grow women's sports, to have it showcased,
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: you know. I think it's so important to invest in
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: women's sports, but also even the Paralympic movement right and
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: that made me so excited to stand up there at
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: the espnW summit and be like, wow, like I'm standing
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: here with such incredible women, you know, as we were
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: partnered with Ally, but also just to be a Paralympic athlete,
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: because there was a time where people weren't investing in
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: the Paralympics. So it's so incredibly cool to say how
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: far it's come it We're not done yet, and that's
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: what motivates me to keep going.
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: That's so rad and to shed some light for those
• 21:26
  Speaker 2: that may not be familiar. We're talking about ALLY and
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: Team ALLY, who recently unveiled their collective influential athletes and
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: creators that are determined to really bring the importance of
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: women's sport to the forefront. They made a pledge to
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: reach equal spending on advertising between men's and women's sports
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: within five years.
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: So why is this something that you're so amped on.
• 21:50
  Speaker 4: Well, I think it's.
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: Just everything right when we think about little girls and
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: what they want to be when they grow up, and
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: just powerful. You know, strong young girls are going to
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: be power women. But if you can't see it, you
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: can't be it. And I've always loved that idea, that quote, right,
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: So I think for me, investing in women's sports, you
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: can only go up. Right, It's just so incredibly powerful.
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: But also this idea of investing in women's sports and
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: this whole idea of being inclusive. Right, I'm so excited.
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: I'm so proud to be a Paralympic athlete and to
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: have a disability, but there are so many There's such
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: a generation of little girls that have disabilities, and I
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: think that is what it's all about. And there was
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: one time I was at a swim meet and one
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: of this little girl came up to me and she
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: had just lost her leg from cancer, and she just said,
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: when she grows up, she wanted to be like me.
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: And I think for me, that's what it's all about.
• 22:39
  Speaker 4: Right. So what Ali is.
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: Doing by investing in women's sports, but also the Paralympic movement,
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: it's going to give someone like that little girl a
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: chance to be seen. And I think there's nothing better
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: than being seen as a woman, but also as a
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: woman with a disability.
• 22:54
  Speaker 3: Definitely.
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: So you mentioned little girl, you yourself were, without a doubt,
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: a young woman to say the least, when you went
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: to your first Paralympic Games. Talk to me a little
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: bit about what that experience was like for you at
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: just twelve years old.
• 23:14
  Speaker 4: Wild. It was wild.
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: I mean I was twelve, but I thought I was
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: like eighteen, you know, twenty one.
• 23:19
  Speaker 4: To me back then, that was so old or cool.
• 23:21
  Speaker 4: It was cool age.
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: But I somehow made the Paralympic team. I was not
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: expected to make the team, so much so that my parents,
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: my mom and my sister slept in the morning that
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: they announced TMUSA after the two thousand and fourth Paralympic
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: trials because they didn't think I was going to make it.
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: My dad went with me and they called my name,
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: and I was like, Okay, here we go. And it's
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: crazy when I think back, because that's truly how it
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: all started. So I went up, stood with TMSA, trained
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: hard all summer. I always wanted to win the gold medal.
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: I've been competitive my whole life, but to get there
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: and to swim in my very first race, the hunter
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: meter freestyle. I ended up doing so well in prelims
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: that I was seated first for the finals. But I
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: knew that the world record holder, who was twice my
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: age from Israel. I knew she didn't swim all out.
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: A lot of swimmers have different strategies. You just kind
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: of want to make it to finals. But I just,
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: you know, I just again, I've always had this determination
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: to never give up, no matter what. So it's the
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: hundred meter freestyle. I'm swimming in front of twenty some
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: thousand people. You know. Of course, the official says take
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: your mark, go, and it's two laps in an Olympics
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: high school. And I did find out later that at
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: the flip turn, I was not seated in a good position.
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: I was in fifth place. So I've always struggled to
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: start the race. But I've always said, you know, it's
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: not how you start, it's how you finish. And I'm swimming,
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: and I'm swimming, and I just remember, you know, the
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: crowd going crazy. I'm twelve years old. I'm the baby
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: on tem Usa. I'm the youngest there like to ever
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: really even compete. And I just remember breathing to my
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: right and seeing her and we're neck and neck, and
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: I remember saying to myself as a twelve year old,
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: I remember saying to myself, I did not come here
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: to get second clear as day. And we touched the
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: wall so close together you had to see the scoreboard,
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: you know, the touch pads. By tenth of a second,
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: I had won the gold medal for Tmosa, and I remember,
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: just like TMSA was going crazy. I could see my
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: family in the stands. It's so funny because when I
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: look back, I'm twelve years old. I'm wearing goggles where
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: you can see my eyes. You know, they're clear goggles.
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: Now I only wear like smoked goggles. But just how
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: cute and innocent I was. And I even had this thought, like, okay,
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: I won the gold medal, Like can I raise my
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: hand up? And I don't know if I did. I
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: think I did it the next race, because I ended
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: up winning two more gold medals. But I started my
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: Paralympic debut with a gold medal, and that was incredible.
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: It was amazing, you know. I think that gave me
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: that confidence. I started wearing shorts, I started showing off
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: my prosthetics. That was the biggest change my parents noticed.
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: But it also is really hard at the same time,
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: because there was a point where my identity came from
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: the gold medals, you know, as I turned sixteen and
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: I won four gold medals at that Paralympics, and then
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: twenty twelve I won five, and it just it took
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: me a little while to learn that my identity doesn't
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: come from this, but at the same time, it was
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: still really really exciting.
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: How would it feel for you to elaborate a little
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: bit on that, on the idea that you had to
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: come to terms with the fact that your identity is
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: not rooted in gold.
• 26:11
  Speaker 4: Yeah, it took me.
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: It took me a long time, you know, And I
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: think there was this point where I just wasn't completely
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: and totally satisfied, and it was just so incredibly hard,
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: right because no matter what, I still didn't feel good enough.
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: And I don't think that moment came until Beijing, when
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: I was sixteen. It was my second Paralympics, and I
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: was expected to win. I was expected to win everything,
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: and I wanted to be Mark Spits. I wanted to
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: win seven gold medals, and to the point that like
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: I told all the reporters, I had seven written everywhere
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: in her house, like I was going to come home
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: with seven gold And just two years prior, at the
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: World Championships when I was fourteen, I actually won nine
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: gold medals, the most ever at a World Championships, which
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: got me a Solomon Award and an sp Award and some.
• 26:55
  Speaker 4: Other really cool stuff.
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: And so going into Beijing, when I got that bronze
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: medal and my teammate broke my world record and went gold,
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: I remember just I didn't even want to go up
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: into the stands.
• 27:06
  Speaker 4: I was so embarrassed. I was like, how can anyone
• 27:08
  Speaker 4: love me?
• 27:08
  Speaker 3: Right?
• 27:08
  Speaker 4: I just I felt unlovable and that probably goes.
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: Back to even adoption, and there's a lot there. But
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: it got to a point when I finally got the
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: courage to go up into the stands. My parents they
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: saw me getting emotional, and I wasn't really a cryer,
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: you know, with all of my life and my surgeries.
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: You know, I just had this mindset of just like
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: you're going to get through it, you can't quit now.
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: But they pulled me into like a stairwell because everyone
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: just wanted pictures and I was like, why would you
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: want a picture with this bronze medal? Like I was
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: just ready to throw it away. And when I was
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: in the stairwell with my parents, I remember just asking them,
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: you know, do you guys still love me? And that
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: shocked him because my parents were the type of parents
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: that like they didn't even care if I you know what,
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: they didn't care at all. They just you know, wanted
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: me to try my best, and if I got disqualified,
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: they took me to Dairy Queen, you know, DQ Dairy,
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: Like they were just so great about everything. But I
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: think for me, it really it came to a point
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: where I just had to realize that I'm a person
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: who loves a swim. I'm not just a swimmer. And
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: I think that really helped, and that there's this balance,
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: you know, there's life and at the end of the day,
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: it is just swimming, and it's still a platform, you know,
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: to use, and it's this ripple effect right there. There's
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: so many people you can impact, but at the same time,
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: there's so much more to who I am as a person.
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: And it took a while such a story, and it
• 28:22
  Speaker 2: really sounds like that helped you get to a place
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: where you could truly be proud of yourself no matter
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: the outcome.
• 28:30
  Speaker 3: What other lessons did you learn through that experience.
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: It's never just been about the medals. I think that
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: the pretty. You know, I definitely want to win the gold,
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: and I think people take me a little bit more
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: seriously with the gold medals, but I think for me,
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: it's so cheesy, but it really is about the people
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: you meet along the way and the journey. And I
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: know that when I'm all done swimming and I hang
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: up my suit and hopefully that's in LA in twenty
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: twenty eight, it's truly about the people that have impacted
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: me and I've hopefully impacted them, and how I have
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: built so many incredible relationships through the sport of swimming.
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: But also I hope to impact. I do really believe
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: this whole idea of you know, impacting the next generation.
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: And I think that's been my motivator right to keep swimming.
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: I know I said it earlier, but that's what excites me.
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: You know, I've worked so hard to grow the Paralympic
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: movement and I think for me, it's having this healthy
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: balance of living life and spending time with family and
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: I'm married and enjoying life, but also at the same time,
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: I'm a fierce competitor. When I'm behind that block, and
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: you know, no matter what, I'm going to do everything
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: within my power to touch that well first. But if
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: I don't, then it's going to be okay. So I
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: think for me, just enjoying the journey, loving life, but
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: also knowing that there's so much life left to live.
• 29:48
  Speaker 2: Taking a break from today's episode to talk to you
• 29:51
  Speaker 2: about my sponsor new to the show, Well, a valiant
• 29:54
  Speaker 2: return let's say to the show, and that is you Can. Now,
• 29:59
  Speaker 2: you guys know that I lean into my Element for
• 30:03
  Speaker 2: my go to electrolyte drink, but lately I have been
• 30:08
  Speaker 2: supplementing my Element with u Can's Edge energy gels. Now,
• 30:13
  Speaker 2: if you are someone that is tired of the spike
• 30:15
  Speaker 2: and crash and gi distress that comes with sugar based
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: sports nutrition, then it is definitely time for you to
• 30:22
  Speaker 2: also give you Can a try. The top marathoners in
• 30:26
  Speaker 2: the country, I'm talking Kira Domato, Sarah Hall, Emma Bates,
• 30:29
  Speaker 2: Emily Sisson, they all rely on you Can to fuel
• 30:33
  Speaker 2: their training and races, and us normal folks, we can
• 30:36
  Speaker 2: be just like them. U Caan's award winning Edge Energy
• 30:41
  Speaker 2: gel lasts longer than other gels and provides a more
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: consistent feeling of energy. And like I said, they have
• 30:47
  Speaker 2: zero sugar, so they aren't too thick or sweet, and
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: it don't need to chase them with water. You know,
• 30:54
  Speaker 2: I trust Element because it's got none of those dodgy ingredients.
• 30:57
  Speaker 2: And I feel the same about you Can hand As
• 31:00
  Speaker 2: I gear up for Berlin, I am only putting the
• 31:03
  Speaker 2: best of the best in my body. So do yourself
• 31:06
  Speaker 2: a favor and get in on a u Can fan.
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: Today they are offering the Hurdle community an exclusive chance
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: to try six Edge samples absolutely free. We love freebees.
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: All you pay is the cost of shipping. Head on
• 31:20
  Speaker 2: over to you can dot co slash Hurdle again, that is,
• 31:23
  Speaker 2: you can uc an dot co slash Hurdle to claim
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: this exclusive offer today. Of note, if you already are
• 31:32
  Speaker 2: a u Can fan, say that five times fast. They
• 31:35
  Speaker 2: do have a discount for you as well. You can
• 31:38
  Speaker 2: save twenty percent on the full variety of their products
• 31:41
  Speaker 2: by heading on over to you can dot co and
• 31:44
  Speaker 2: use the code Hurdle at checkout. Also, what would a
• 31:47
  Speaker 2: new season be without giving some love to my longest.
• 31:51
  Speaker 3: Sponsor, ag One.
• 31:53
  Speaker 2: A one is a daily foundational nutritional supplement that supports
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: whole body health and I drink it literally every day.
• 32:01
  Speaker 3: And I originally gave ag.
• 32:02
  Speaker 2: One a try because I was tired of my half
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: hazard approach to supplementation.
• 32:07
  Speaker 3: I wanted to make sure that.
• 32:09
  Speaker 2: I was giving my body what it really needs instead
• 32:12
  Speaker 2: of taking a zillion different supplements, gummy vitamins, whatever was
• 32:15
  Speaker 2: on sale at CBS nearby. I wanted a single solution
• 32:19
  Speaker 2: that supports my entire body and covers my nutritional visas
• 32:22
  Speaker 2: every single day. And so with ag one, not only
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: did I find a gut health boost. Literally I feel
• 32:29
  Speaker 2: like my digestion is better than ever, but I also
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: now have a boost in energy immune system support. And
• 32:36
  Speaker 2: I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I
• 32:39
  Speaker 2: love the taste. I shake up ag one every single
• 32:43
  Speaker 2: morning right before I walk into my office, and it
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: makes me feel unstoppable and like I'm ready to get
• 32:49
  Speaker 2: right into the swing of things now. Of course, ag
• 32:52
  Speaker 2: one has a deal for you. Head on over to
• 32:56
  Speaker 2: drinkag one dot com slash hurdle to get a U.
• 33:00
  Speaker 2: Here's a supply of Vitamin D plus five free travel
• 33:03
  Speaker 2: packs at checkout. Again, that's drinkag one dot com slash
• 33:07
  Speaker 2: hurdle to get a free year supply of vitamin D
• 33:11
  Speaker 2: plus five free travel packs at checkout. Talk to me
• 33:20
  Speaker 2: a little bit about what it was like to grow
• 33:22
  Speaker 2: up having found success so early on. I mean, as
• 33:26
  Speaker 2: you know, as a woman, so much changes for you
• 33:29
  Speaker 2: between god twelve and eighteen, nevertheless growing up into your
• 33:33
  Speaker 2: adulthood from eighteen moving forward. So what was it like
• 33:37
  Speaker 2: for you to have accomplished so much so young? And
• 33:40
  Speaker 2: how did that feel?
• 33:42
  Speaker 4: Yeah, it's so funny.
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: I'm like, you know, I think there's always this idea
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: that I'm like, what have I done? Like accomplish? Like
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: I just love what I do. I mean, for me,
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: it's never again, it's never really been about the metals,
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: Like my medals are I think they're in our storage unit,
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: which I'm probably and I'm like where is I think
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: I've one above the like it truly for me, Like,
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: I think there was always this idea that I wasn't
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: good enough. Right when you add an adoption. I think
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: that was a feeling that I felt for a long
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: time that I just wasn't good enough, and I always
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: wanted to prove that I was, so I think for me,
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: just with the success it was, it was really exciting,
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: you know, being a disabled girl.
• 34:18
  Speaker 4: I never felt like I was disabled. You know.
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: Again, it's so interesting because I knew I was a
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: girl with no legs, but I also knew that I
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: could do anything I set my mind too. And it
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: might take me a second to learn, but I could
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: do anything I set my mind to. And I think
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: for me, another huge thing that I did was, you know,
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: I got really really tired of people, you know, referring
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: to me like, oh, I'm part of the para Olympics
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: or you know you're oh you're just a Paralympian. And
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: there was a moment where I was doing an event
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: with Bob Bowman, Michael Phelps's coach who ended up being
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: my coach later, where I just said to him, you
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: know what if I come and train with you guys.
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: And that was truly one of the hardest things I've
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: ever done as an athlete, as you know, just learning
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: to grow and the success, right, I felt like I
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: had accomplished so much. I had signed with Nike when
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: I was fourteen, I won the Sullivan Award as the
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: only Paralympians I think right now to have won it.
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: There was just so much exciting things happening. But for me,
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: I think you always need to be getting out of
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: your comfort zone. I think for me that is truly
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: what has allowed me to keep being a part of
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: the sport is to continue to get out of my
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: comfort zone and to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. So
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: for me, that came with I was also tired of
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: people looking down on me when I said I was
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: a Paralympian. So I decided to train with Olympic athletes
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: and it will truly was the hardest thing I have
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: ever done. I can't even like some of it. I
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: can't even remember. It was so incredibly hard, but I
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: know that every single day I showed up and I
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: did the same workouts and very very few days we
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: ever had to adjust. But I think for me that
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: was one of the big moments in my life where
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: I was extremely proud of myself. But growing up I
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: never really went to my hat.
• 35:52
  Speaker 4: I don't even know.
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: I just always wanted to win more gold medals and
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: be the best that I could be. But impacted me.
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: I feel like I've lived a lot of life. I
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: went all over there, all over with your question, but
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: I just feel like I've lived a lot of life.
• 36:04
  Speaker 3: You're totally fine.
• 36:06
  Speaker 2: When it came to asking Bowman if you could train
• 36:08
  Speaker 2: with him, how did that feel at the time?
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, that was so intimidating. We actually did
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: an event together. We did like a like a Q
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: and a kind of speech thing in Boston, and I
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: just remember being like, it's all or nothing. I'm from Baltimore.
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: I know he knows of me. I know of him,
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: And I just said, what do you think about me
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: coming and training with you guys the like pro group.
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: And at this point, I was living out in Colorado
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: training with all Paralympic athletes, and I'm like, you know,
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: I love training with Paralympic athletes. But I've always been
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: so good because I've trained with able bodied people, right
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: people with legs who have challenged me where I want
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: to beat them with the legs. So he just said, sure,
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: let's let's do it. So I moved back. I think
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: I had like six months and then I moved home
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: in September of twenty thirteen. And some of those practices
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: were some of the hardest. I'll never forget. It was
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: like a Thanksgiving practice and we used to call it
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: the Turkey Burner. I was like, okay, so I was
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: for some reason. I was just like really really really
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: the last one out. And this was not like I
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: don't remember ever like this happening besides this one practice.
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: But it was like an im set. I think it
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: was seven or eight thousand meters. That's a lot of swimming.
• 37:15
  Speaker 4: And I just took me forever.
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: And by the time I got out, I like waddled
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: over to my legs and Michael Phelps Michael like got
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: really really low and opened up his arms and gave
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: me like the biggest hug, and he always called me
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: j Low Jessica Long. And I just remember being like,
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: no matter what, I finished the workout, I did it.
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: I didn't get out, But that was one of the
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: hardest workouts and I don't even remember it. It was
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: just continuous. It was a whole ladder set.
• 37:41
  Speaker 2: It was.
• 37:41
  Speaker 4: It was very challenging.
• 37:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it sounds challenging. I'm like out of
• 37:46
  Speaker 2: breath just thinking about it. I want to bring you
• 37:49
  Speaker 2: back to what you said before, which was I quote
• 37:52
  Speaker 2: I've done everything I've ever wanted. What when you reflect,
• 37:57
  Speaker 2: was your biggest goal that you have accomplished And what
• 38:00
  Speaker 2: is a different goal that's on your radar right now?
• 38:05
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: So a goal that I had been really, i mean
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: aiming for for a long time was to be So
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: my hero growing up was Aaron Popovich. Still is lover
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: she still she retired. I think before the twenty twelve Paralympics.
• 38:20
  Speaker 4: Was it twenty twelve?
• 38:21
  Speaker 1: I think it was before the twenty twelve and she
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: had won She had a total fourteen Paralympic gold medals,
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: and for me going into Tokyo, I had thirteen. And
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: it was just kind of this really cool, full like
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: full circle moment because we had actually raced together in
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: the brushstroke. We have different classifications and Paralympic swimming, so
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: we ended up racing together, and there was she was
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: the one that beat me in two thousand and eight
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: and broke the world record and got the gold medal.
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: And then so that was twenty eight and then twenty
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: twelve she had already retired, and I ended up winning
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: the gold and the brushstroke, and I was able to
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: actually give her my ceremony flowers, which was a really cool,
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: full circle moment. But for me in Tokyo, when I
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: surpassed her fourteen gold medals, that was a goal that
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: I had had for a really long time because going
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: into Tokyo, I had thirteen so to come out, you know,
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: I won three gold in Tokyo, and again it was
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: so incredibly challenging even to get to Tokyo.
• 39:14
  Speaker 4: So for me, that was a goal. Check that off
• 39:16
  Speaker 4: the list.
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: I feel, you know, sixteen gold is pretty and crazy
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: to me. I don't even think I let myself think that,
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: even to the point sometimes my husband's like, girl, you
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: like keep that confidence going, like you've done it, like
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: to be proud of yourself, because I'm always like, what's next.
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: I think, right now, I'm so excited to jump over.
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: You know, I'm still swimming. I'm still I'm like, okay,
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: still finish the race strong. But I have a children's
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: book coming out later this year called The Mermaid with
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: No Tail. It's so cute. I'm so excited for that.
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: But I really love sharing my story with others and
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: doing a lot of different public speaking. So I think
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: when swimming is done, that's something I really really want
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: to take on and just become even better at So
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: that's kind of the next goal.
• 39:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, sixteen gold medals. That is truly, truly remarkable. When
• 40:05
  Speaker 2: you hear that, How does that make you feel?
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: I don't know. It's like this is like turning into therapy.
• 40:13
  Speaker 3: I'm here to help you.
• 40:17
  Speaker 4: I think, you know.
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: I just think oftentimes of like the little Russian girl
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: who never gave up, Right, I never I never did,
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: and really recently it's been so incredibly challenging, Right, I
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: haven't really wanted to swim. I'm struggling swimming by myself,
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: and oftentimes even today when I swim by myself, I'm like, Okay,
• 40:35
  Speaker 1: sheat that little Russian girl would never give up, So
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: you can't give up now, Like, don't you dare give up?
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: So when I hear sixteen gold medals, I think I'm
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: just like so incredibly proud of myself, But also I
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: think I'm gonna be like I haven't even let myself
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: really think about it yet because I'm not really done.
• 40:51
  Speaker 1: But it's also hard to at the same time, right, Like,
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: I'm so proud of myself, but what if I don't
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: win a gold medal in Paris? Like what is that
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: going to feel like, how how am I going to
• 41:01
  Speaker 1: conquer that?
• 41:02
  Speaker 5: Right?
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: Because it's going to be okay no matter what happens
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: in Paris, But it's it's really really hard when there's
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: such such an expectation to always win, and I sometimes
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: just want people to be really really proud of me
• 41:13
  Speaker 1: for how long I've done it for because I think
• 41:16
  Speaker 1: that's been the hardest part for me. It's never I've
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: always believed in myself to win. I've always done the
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: hard work. But I think when people just acknowledge, like, wow,
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: like you've been doing this for so long, and I'm
• 41:27
  Speaker 1: like or they'll just be like aren't you Like you're tired,
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: you must be tired, and I'm like.
• 41:31
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm tired.
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: But it's still it's so important for me to keep going, right,
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: It's I don't want to just be good.
• 41:37
  Speaker 4: I want to be a legend.
• 41:38
  Speaker 1: I've wanted to be a legend in my sport, and
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: I want to be truly the best, and I want
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: to keep growing the sport.
• 41:44
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: We're not there yet, there's still a lot of you know,
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: we're still not completely equal with the Olympics. We have
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: equal pay for gold medals, but our monthly stipend isn't
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: even half of what they get, so.
• 41:58
  Speaker 4: There's still some work.
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: To be done and that space, and that's why I'm
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: still kind of swimming.
• 42:03
  Speaker 3: What would you say makes someone a legend?
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 42:09
  Speaker 4: I was thinking about this recently.
• 42:10
  Speaker 1: Just someone who just even when it's even when it's hard,
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: even when you're not winning, even when you're struggling, even
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: when you haven't dropped time and swimming for so long.
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: I think it's so like you still showing up and
• 42:21
  Speaker 1: being a part of it. And I think every athlete
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: goes through struggles. I think every athlete goes through failures.
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: I think that's what makes some of the greats the best,
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: because no matter the failures, that's almost the motivation, the
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: fuel to keep going. And I would say right now,
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: this past like year and a half has felt like
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: such a struggle, right just swimming by myself or feeling
• 42:39
  Speaker 1: like okay. It's so easy to get caught in your
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: head and be like I've done enough, like it's enough,
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: like you don't have to do it. But at the
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: same time, I have to really push that thought out
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: out of my head because I'm still not done and
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: I want to finish my race strong, and I really
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: really get excited when I think of and emotional when
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: I think of my last race in LA and I
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: really want this big build up on home soil and
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: I want people to know it's going to be.
• 43:02
  Speaker 4: My last race. But I don't know.
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: I just feel like my race isn't done. But just
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: those who continue going for years and years and years.
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: To me, that's like one of the most amazing things.
• 43:13
  Speaker 2: What I'm hearing you say is that you've already definitely
• 43:17
  Speaker 2: made your mark as legendary and there's only so much
• 43:21
  Speaker 2: more good to come from here. I would be curious
• 43:26
  Speaker 2: to know what happens when you're in these moments of struggle.
• 43:33
  Speaker 2: Do you find that you're capable of having grace with
• 43:37
  Speaker 2: yourself or how do you push through when it does
• 43:42
  Speaker 2: feel lonely and challenging.
• 43:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean grace. It takes time, right to give
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: yourself grace. I think it's something just like as athletes
• 43:49
  Speaker 1: we practice. It takes a lot of practice to give
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: yourself grace. And there were times that I remember feeling
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: like as a young girl, like punishing myself if I didn't,
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: you know, do well in practice and be so upset
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: about it. And as I've gotten older, I mean older,
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: I mean I would say from really like twenty to
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: like I'm thirty one now, just I've really adapted this mindset.
• 44:10
  Speaker 1: If I struggle that it's okay, and it's okay to
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: communicate that with your coach. My coach, going from my
• 44:16
  Speaker 1: coach I trained without in the year before Tokyo was
• 44:19
  Speaker 1: truly one of the best coaches I've ever trained with.
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: Nathan Manly. He just like would ask you how you
• 44:26
  Speaker 1: were and cared about you as a person. And I
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: think for me that just carried on into my swimming
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: right giving myself grace. And there were times where he'd
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: be like are you how.
• 44:34
  Speaker 4: Are you doing?
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: And I'd be like, I do not want to be here,
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: like just it's hard, but I just think it takes
• 44:39
  Speaker 1: a lot of practice, and when I'm really really struggling,
• 44:42
  Speaker 1: you know again, I have to go back to why
• 44:44
  Speaker 1: it started. I think that is such a huge motivator.
• 44:47
  Speaker 1: And this is the weirdest thing, but I do this
• 44:49
  Speaker 1: a lot that when I'm struggling or I have a
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: moment of doubt, like if I'm doing a set of
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: pull ups and I'm like, oh, I can't do this,
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: or I don't really say the word can't. I actually
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: really don't say that word. But if I'm like I
• 44:59
  Speaker 1: don't want to do this, that's what I say. Sometimes
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: then I'll push myself and do one extra or you know,
• 45:05
  Speaker 1: if I'm having a really really tough swim practice, I'll
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: step up and race an extra hundred just if I
• 45:10
  Speaker 1: have a moment of doubt, because I think sometimes when
• 45:12
  Speaker 1: I step up or I have to reset and I
• 45:15
  Speaker 1: just give myself a chance to do it over again,
• 45:18
  Speaker 1: it's almost an opportunity for me not to disappoint myself.
• 45:20
  Speaker 1: So if I don't want to do five pull ups,
• 45:22
  Speaker 1: I'm like, Okay, now we got to do six. And
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: when I do that six one, it like just feels
• 45:26
  Speaker 1: so good. So that's something I've always done. If I
• 45:28
  Speaker 1: have a moment of doubt, for.
• 45:30
  Speaker 2: The person listening to this that struggles with that next
• 45:33
  Speaker 2: level mentality, I'm curious to know if you also ever
• 45:37
  Speaker 2: bring the grace to a place where you're like, you
• 45:39
  Speaker 2: know what, maybe today isn't the day for X thing.
• 45:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's so important to listen to your body,
• 45:46
  Speaker 1: and also mental health is huge, right, I feel like
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: we didn't have that ten years ago. People didn't care,
• 45:51
  Speaker 1: people didn't even want to, Like, people didn't even.
• 45:53
  Speaker 4: Ask you how you were.
• 45:54
  Speaker 1: And I've had coaches be like, I do not care
• 45:56
  Speaker 1: about how you're doing. Get in and swim, and I'm like.
• 45:59
  Speaker 4: Yeah, but feeling like if I feel bad.
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: Like I don't want to swim, because swimming is such
• 46:03
  Speaker 1: an isolating, isolating sport. Right, it's individual, but it's a team,
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: but also it's just you and your thoughts and there's
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: no distractions, and sometimes that can be really really challenging.
• 46:13
  Speaker 1: But yeah, I think there's so much more with technology nowadays,
• 46:15
  Speaker 1: or even just taking time to it's okay to not.
• 46:18
  Speaker 4: Always be okay. Right, I've always liked that quote.
• 46:21
  Speaker 1: So if I'm having a tough practice, sometimes just like
• 46:24
  Speaker 1: tomorrow's a new day, it's okay, and just like putting
• 46:27
  Speaker 1: it behind me, but not letting it almost like eat
• 46:29
  Speaker 1: me alive. So I think that's something really important, and
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: I see a lot of athletes today really struggle with that,
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: and it takes time, right, just like we were saying,
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: like Grace, it just takes time to just be like
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: it's okay, let it go if you can let it
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: go and reset and have a great practice tomorrow.
• 46:45
  Speaker 4: To me, that's like a win.
• 46:47
  Speaker 3: And not long ago.
• 46:48
  Speaker 2: I write a caption on Instagram talking about how you
• 46:51
  Speaker 2: have been managing your time since Tokyo in twenty twenty two,
• 46:55
  Speaker 2: opening up that you know that you can be so
• 46:57
  Speaker 2: incredibly hard on yourself and talk negatively to your self
• 47:00
  Speaker 2: some days, and that you're working on changing that. For
• 47:03
  Speaker 2: someone who totally can relate with the concept of negative
• 47:07
  Speaker 2: self talk and struggling with negative self talk, what advice
• 47:11
  Speaker 2: do you have to shift that inner dialogue to be
• 47:14
  Speaker 2: a little bit more positive.
• 47:15
  Speaker 4: That's such a good question.
• 47:17
  Speaker 1: I try to remember that my brain, like the brain,
• 47:21
  Speaker 1: it's so incredibly powerful, right, And I've always believed in
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: the power of visualizing and seeing things in my head
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: and believing anything that I tell it. So when I'm
• 47:31
  Speaker 1: telling it such negative thoughts or I'm speaking so negatively,
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: sometimes I'll go and stand in front of the mirror
• 47:36
  Speaker 1: and I'm just like three positive things go or like
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: I try to like it's okay. I think it's it's
• 47:41
  Speaker 1: human and it's natural to have negative thoughts sometimes, But
• 47:45
  Speaker 1: also that can be so incredibly challenged, like so taxing,
• 47:49
  Speaker 1: because I just think you start to believe it. So
• 47:52
  Speaker 1: I've just really tried to say more and more positive stuff.
• 47:54
  Speaker 1: And even if I don't believe the positive stuff, I'm
• 47:56
  Speaker 1: just saying it out loud so I can kind of
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: hear it, and that does I really help. And more
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: recently I've really struggled just with body image. Right, I
• 48:04
  Speaker 1: don't look the same that I did, right, I'm not
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: training the insane amount that I was before Tokyo, and
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: I've gained about fifteen pounds and that has been really really,
• 48:14
  Speaker 1: really really hard, especially as an amputee, right where people
• 48:18
  Speaker 1: see this really fit, pretty girl and it almost helps
• 48:21
  Speaker 1: me even when I have tough days with my legs.
• 48:23
  Speaker 1: So that post I was, you know, even referring to
• 48:26
  Speaker 1: like body image, like you know, I'm saying such horrible
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: things to myself that I wouldn't say to a little
• 48:31
  Speaker 1: girl in front of me or a little a swim team.
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: And I've coached younger girls, right, so I just it's
• 48:35
  Speaker 1: a constant, like practice, even as being a thirty one
• 48:38
  Speaker 1: year old, you know, it doesn't go away. Just that
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: like just trying to be kinder on myself and just
• 48:43
  Speaker 1: having positive things to say. And I used to really
• 48:47
  Speaker 1: struggle with having these big arms, right, and I've just
• 48:50
  Speaker 1: been like, no, like they're not big, they're strong, but
• 48:52
  Speaker 1: it takes time and just like anything, you have to
• 48:55
  Speaker 1: just practice and practice.
• 48:57
  Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you for sharing that and being so vulnerable.
• 49:00
  Speaker 3: It's so uh, it's so.
• 49:03
  Speaker 2: Relatable, and I would be your miss if I didn't
• 49:06
  Speaker 2: say that. I have certainly dealt with similar struggles in
• 49:10
  Speaker 2: different capacities. I think so many of the people listening
• 49:14
  Speaker 2: to this right now have as well. And to know
• 49:19
  Speaker 2: that there is value to you no matter what size
• 49:23
  Speaker 2: you are, what shape you are, where you're from, with
• 49:26
  Speaker 2: legs without legs, it is important. But that doesn't mean
• 49:30
  Speaker 2: that it's easy to recognize in the moments where that
• 49:34
  Speaker 2: negative self talk is seeping in.
• 49:37
  Speaker 5: Not in the slightest Oh yes, it can be very challenging,
• 49:41
  Speaker 5: especially when things just don't fit the way they used to.
• 49:43
  Speaker 5: But I just try to think of all the things
• 49:45
  Speaker 5: my body has gotten through and all the things my
• 49:47
  Speaker 5: body has done. And I love this idea of just
• 49:49
  Speaker 5: appreciating your body for all that it's gotten you through.
• 49:53
  Speaker 5: And that's really really helped my mindset as a female athlete,
• 49:57
  Speaker 5: As an athlete with the disability, just really giving it
• 50:01
  Speaker 5: her praise for everything she's done or it.
• 50:03
  Speaker 2: But yeah, how did it feel for you when you
• 50:06
  Speaker 2: started spending more time in let's say, like a public
• 50:10
  Speaker 2: facing capacity, allowing others to see you, all of you
• 50:15
  Speaker 2: for what you are.
• 50:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that was a little a little challenging. I've always
• 50:19
  Speaker 1: been super, super open. You know, my life story has
• 50:22
  Speaker 1: really been on display since I was twelve. And then
• 50:25
  Speaker 1: in twenty fourteen, I did go back and meet my
• 50:27
  Speaker 1: biological family in Russia and they married each other and
• 50:31
  Speaker 1: they have three children. So NBC followed like showcase my
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: whole story during the Sogio Olympics and Paralympics. So I
• 50:39
  Speaker 1: feel like my life has really been showcase. But when
• 50:41
  Speaker 1: the Super Bowl commercial happened, that was when I was like,
• 50:45
  Speaker 1: oh my gosh, wow, like this is crazy and like
• 50:47
  Speaker 1: everyone has phones these days, Like I think I just
• 50:49
  Speaker 1: got a little bit more anxious and just the pressure that,
• 50:52
  Speaker 1: you know, just to perform, but also like, gosh, you know,
• 50:56
  Speaker 1: I've always been this incredible. I've always wanted to be
• 50:58
  Speaker 1: an inspiration and an ambassad but it just added a
• 51:01
  Speaker 1: little bit more pressure because you just think, oh gosh,
• 51:04
  Speaker 1: like you're a little bit like you're being watched in
• 51:05
  Speaker 1: a way and people are noticing. And I've sat I
• 51:08
  Speaker 1: just recently flew and there's whoever I was sitting next
• 51:11
  Speaker 1: to knew who I was, and I was like, Oh,
• 51:12
  Speaker 1: that's really cool and kind of scary because I was
• 51:14
  Speaker 1: having like a glass of wine.
• 51:16
  Speaker 4: I was like, Oh, my gosh. But no, I mean
• 51:18
  Speaker 4: it's really cool.
• 51:19
  Speaker 1: And I've always took on that role of representing TMOSA
• 51:21
  Speaker 1: but also female athletes and being a female athlete and
• 51:24
  Speaker 1: people with disabilities. And I really believe in the power
• 51:28
  Speaker 1: of great role models. And I think social media make
• 51:32
  Speaker 1: things really hard. I think it's it's so easy to
• 51:34
  Speaker 1: compare and it's not going to go away, right, So
• 51:37
  Speaker 1: it's it's really important to have practice it like setting
• 51:40
  Speaker 1: up like you know, setting up certain times, like I
• 51:43
  Speaker 1: have an hour limit on Instagram and that's really helped
• 51:46
  Speaker 1: me just even with comparison comparing. But but yeah, I
• 51:51
  Speaker 1: don't know it definitely there was a lot more pressure
• 51:53
  Speaker 1: after the Super Bowl where people would stop me and
• 51:55
  Speaker 1: notice me and I'd be like, oh gosh, yes, this
• 51:58
  Speaker 1: is wild.
• 52:00
  Speaker 2: I mean that's understandable, right, this feeling of wanting to
• 52:04
  Speaker 2: be on your game all the time, feeling as though
• 52:08
  Speaker 2: more people are paying attention. What would you say, in
• 52:12
  Speaker 2: your opinion is the best part of social media versus.
• 52:16
  Speaker 3: The worst part of social media? Yeah?
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: I mean I would say the best for me has
• 52:22
  Speaker 1: been seeing other amputees. I love that, I think, and
• 52:25
  Speaker 1: it's so incredibly cool to me when I see amputees
• 52:28
  Speaker 1: who you can scroll down to their page and you
• 52:31
  Speaker 1: can see at first how they hid being an amputee,
• 52:34
  Speaker 1: and then all of a sudden they found this confidence
• 52:36
  Speaker 1: and they're showcasing their legs and even educating at times,
• 52:39
  Speaker 1: which I do not believe is always our job as
• 52:41
  Speaker 1: amputees to educate, right. I think there's a lot of
• 52:44
  Speaker 1: you can read about stuff online. We have Google, like,
• 52:47
  Speaker 1: but I think that's been so incredible just not feeling alone, right,
• 52:51
  Speaker 1: feeling seen. I think there's such a power and knowing
• 52:54
  Speaker 1: that you're not the only one. I think the harness
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: thing though, is just I think for me as a female,
• 52:59
  Speaker 1: and I don't know about all females, but just comparing
• 53:01
  Speaker 1: body types, right, I think that's something where you just
• 53:05
  Speaker 1: know that there's filters with everything, right, and then I
• 53:07
  Speaker 1: have to constantly remind myself that this is our highlight reel,
• 53:10
  Speaker 1: like mine is my highlight reel for sure, and just
• 53:13
  Speaker 1: sometimes remembering that this is not one hundred percent reality.
• 53:16
  Speaker 1: So I think that's been the most challenging, just because
• 53:18
  Speaker 1: we get so sucked into it.
• 53:19
  Speaker 4: And the edit.
• 53:20
  Speaker 1: I love the editing, and I love posing for pictures
• 53:22
  Speaker 1: and it's so exciting to me, and of course I'll
• 53:24
  Speaker 1: pick my favorite ones, but just reminding myself that it's
• 53:28
  Speaker 1: not the whole truth. That we're just presenting sometimes our best.
• 53:31
  Speaker 4: Which is okay, But that's why I think I'm so
• 53:35
  Speaker 4: I I.
• 53:35
  Speaker 1: Love the women who post and they're like, look, this
• 53:37
  Speaker 1: is me without a filter, or this is not a one
• 53:39
  Speaker 1: hundred percent in real life, or like the different angles,
• 53:41
  Speaker 1: and I'm like, okay, gosh, this is this is social.
• 53:44
  Speaker 3: Media, this is the highlight reel.
• 53:47
  Speaker 2: You know, You've talked a little bit in our conversation
• 53:50
  Speaker 2: today about the fact that there is so much further
• 53:53
  Speaker 2: for us to go when it comes to supporting both
• 53:55
  Speaker 2: women in sport and then also Paralympic athletes. How can
• 54:00
  Speaker 2: and the average person support Paralympic athletes?
• 54:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I think truly just well, first off, even
• 54:10
  Speaker 1: understanding what the word Paralympic stands for I think a
• 54:13
  Speaker 1: lot of people don't even realize that the word Para
• 54:16
  Speaker 1: means parallel to the Olympic Games. So I think that's
• 54:19
  Speaker 1: huge just knowing that we are alongside the Olympics. There's
• 54:22
  Speaker 1: really there's no difference. But I think also for us,
• 54:25
  Speaker 1: one of the biggest things is just actually being showcased
• 54:29
  Speaker 1: as elite athletes. And again that's why I'm really really
• 54:32
  Speaker 1: excited with ally, because there's going to be so much
• 54:34
  Speaker 1: more action and we're still kind of in the works
• 54:36
  Speaker 1: of figuring out what that action could look like for
• 54:38
  Speaker 1: the Paralympic movement. But again, for me, it's important as
• 54:41
  Speaker 1: an athlete to not give up now, to keep swimming
• 54:43
  Speaker 1: even when it gets hard, and right now it is hard.
• 54:46
  Speaker 1: I will say that again it has been very hard.
• 54:48
  Speaker 1: So it's really really important to keep showing up to
• 54:50
  Speaker 1: the competitions and to keep showcasing it on Paralympics. But
• 54:54
  Speaker 1: for those who don't know, again I just would maybe
• 54:57
  Speaker 1: challenge yourself to read more about the Paralympics, you know,
• 55:00
  Speaker 1: just following the Paralympic movement, I think that's always really important,
• 55:04
  Speaker 1: but just supporting it in ways you know on social
• 55:06
  Speaker 1: media for sure always helps, but just knowing that when
• 55:10
  Speaker 1: the Olympics are done, it's not over. We're next. And
• 55:13
  Speaker 1: we always say to the Olympians, We're like, thanks for
• 55:15
  Speaker 1: the warm up, because they figure all out, they get
• 55:18
  Speaker 1: all they get all the little kinks out by the
• 55:20
  Speaker 1: time we come. But but yeah, just I get super
• 55:23
  Speaker 1: excited when I go to grocery stores and they see
• 55:25
  Speaker 1: me wearing a Paralympic shirt and they're like, oh my gosh,
• 55:26
  Speaker 1: like you're in the Paralympics, And me, guess I am
• 55:29
  Speaker 1: so just educating reading.
• 55:30
  Speaker 3: About it now.
• 55:32
  Speaker 2: I also think that it can be as simple as
• 55:35
  Speaker 2: broadening who you follow on social media and following Paralympic
• 55:39
  Speaker 2: athletes and engaging with their content. And I mean, you
• 55:42
  Speaker 2: spoke so excitedly about not only being an ambassador for Ally,
• 55:47
  Speaker 2: but then also your work previously with other big brands,
• 55:50
  Speaker 2: including Toyota and that Super Bowl commercial. So engaging with
• 55:53
  Speaker 2: the content in a way that shows these brands that
• 55:56
  Speaker 2: not only do your fans support you, but they're excited
• 56:01
  Speaker 2: about seeing you interact in such a big way, making
• 56:05
  Speaker 2: such a big statement.
• 56:06
  Speaker 4: Yes, I love that.
• 56:07
  Speaker 1: And obviously there's some amazing amazing accounts to follow.
• 56:11
  Speaker 4: Where you'll see it. I mean, we are always.
• 56:13
  Speaker 1: Training, right, We're not just training like a few months
• 56:16
  Speaker 1: before the Olympics or Paralympics. We are always training in
• 56:19
  Speaker 1: the dark, right. So that's what makes the Olympics so exciting.
• 56:22
  Speaker 4: When it comes.
• 56:22
  Speaker 1: But also I think for anyone else, just understanding that
• 56:25
  Speaker 1: we are training twenty four seven and there are incredible
• 56:28
  Speaker 1: platforms who promote that and showcase that, so I think
• 56:31
  Speaker 1: it would be really really incredible. You know, obviously there's
• 56:33
  Speaker 1: Team USA, there's ally there's NBC Olympics and Paralympics, but
• 56:38
  Speaker 1: just seeing what all of us are doing, right, because
• 56:40
  Speaker 1: we are representing the US, the USA, and there's nothing
• 56:42
  Speaker 1: better than swimming with the American flag, you know.
• 56:45
  Speaker 2: Simcah I love, I love that phrase training in the dark.
• 56:49
  Speaker 2: For so many athletes, regardless of gender, how you identify
• 56:54
  Speaker 2: where you're from, A lot of that training is exactly
• 56:58
  Speaker 2: that way.
• 56:58
  Speaker 3: It is happening in the dark.
• 57:01
  Speaker 2: You talked about knowing your why and that that why
• 57:05
  Speaker 2: is what keeps you going when it does feel challenging.
• 57:09
  Speaker 3: If you had to articulate that why, what is it?
• 57:12
  Speaker 1: I would definitely say my why? You know, for so
• 57:15
  Speaker 1: long I was proving to others that they you know,
• 57:17
  Speaker 1: that they were wrong, that I was enough. But now
• 57:20
  Speaker 1: it's proving to others that they can do it too.
• 57:22
  Speaker 1: And I think that's been kind of my like mindset
• 57:25
  Speaker 1: moving forward, that they can do it too, that if
• 57:27
  Speaker 1: I'm if I'm still swimming, proving to others just that
• 57:30
  Speaker 1: they can do it and they could even break they
• 57:31
  Speaker 1: can break all the records, right, Records are meant to
• 57:33
  Speaker 1: be broken, medals are meant to be one.
• 57:35
  Speaker 4: There's always going to be the next.
• 57:37
  Speaker 1: Up and comer, but it starts first with a I
• 57:40
  Speaker 1: think it for first starts with the younger generation seeing
• 57:42
  Speaker 1: others like them. So I think for me, my why
• 57:45
  Speaker 1: is continuing to do it even when I don't always
• 57:48
  Speaker 1: want to.
• 57:48
  Speaker 2: Speaking of the younger generation, you've got over a million
• 57:51
  Speaker 2: followers on TikTok. Talk to me about how it feels
• 57:54
  Speaker 2: for you to truly be stepping into what you're saying
• 57:58
  Speaker 2: here being the person, being that woman that they see.
• 58:02
  Speaker 2: In order to be her, you need to see her,
• 58:04
  Speaker 2: you're her.
• 58:08
  Speaker 1: That's been so wild to me, and even at some
• 58:11
  Speaker 1: points I've had to really take a step back from
• 58:13
  Speaker 1: even posting because I'm like, wow, this is just social media.
• 58:16
  Speaker 1: We all need breaks. But it's been so incredible to
• 58:19
  Speaker 1: see other like kids who are adopted writ and to
• 58:21
  Speaker 1: know my story, or little imputees who actually were born
• 58:24
  Speaker 1: with the same thing as me. You know. I post
• 58:27
  Speaker 1: a lot of me just kind of dancing or walking
• 58:29
  Speaker 1: on my knees. I actually first posted on TikTok just
• 58:33
  Speaker 1: because I think for me, it came at a point
• 58:35
  Speaker 1: in my life maybe four years ago, three years ago,
• 58:38
  Speaker 1: where I was like, I wonder if people even know
• 58:40
  Speaker 1: how amputees put on their prosthetics. So I did a
• 58:42
  Speaker 1: little video and I just I think it was my
• 58:44
  Speaker 1: second video actually, and it got like thirty seven million views,
• 58:48
  Speaker 1: and I was like what, I was like, this is crazy.
• 58:51
  Speaker 1: So it's just been really cool to share. I definitely
• 58:54
  Speaker 1: again struggled after Tokyo and just didn't I think I
• 58:56
  Speaker 1: was just a little burned out with some stuff. So
• 58:58
  Speaker 1: I'm trying to get back onto posting. It's been really
• 59:00
  Speaker 1: cool to connect with different people through that platform. But again,
• 59:04
  Speaker 1: I think just showing people that what's capable is really important.
• 59:08
  Speaker 3: How does Jessica take care of Jessica?
• 59:10
  Speaker 1: I love ice coffee and a charcutery board and a bath.
• 59:14
  Speaker 1: I'm a big bath girl, Epsom salt bath all the way.
• 59:17
  Speaker 4: Now.
• 59:17
  Speaker 1: I'm so incredibly thankful and blessed for my husband, who
• 59:20
  Speaker 1: just truly supports me and who's so so incredible. I
• 59:23
  Speaker 1: think for me, just sometimes it's okay to not always
• 59:26
  Speaker 1: be okay and to know that life is just getting
• 59:29
  Speaker 1: started and that there's some of my best days haven't
• 59:31
  Speaker 1: even happened.
• 59:32
  Speaker 4: I love that.
• 59:33
  Speaker 1: But for me, truly, one of my favorite things to
• 59:34
  Speaker 1: do is take a bath, because I think it's just
• 59:36
  Speaker 1: after a tough day of training. There's nothing I love
• 59:39
  Speaker 1: better than just doing an EPSOM salt bath and soaking,
• 59:42
  Speaker 1: or just listening to a podcast or you know. I
• 59:45
  Speaker 1: love making charcoutery boards. But honestly, for me, relaxing is
• 59:48
  Speaker 1: just slowing down and I'm always in water. That's I
• 59:50
  Speaker 1: always laugh when I take baths because I'm like, I
• 59:52
  Speaker 1: can't get out of water. But for me, my favorite
• 59:54
  Speaker 1: thing to do ever is take it back.
• 59:56
  Speaker 3: I'm stuck here. I'm stuck in this water all right.
• 59:59
  Speaker 2: Well, as we start to wind down now, someone goes
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 2: to your Instagram page, they see a Paralympic champion with
• 1:00:06
  Speaker 2: over one hundred thousand followers. Obviously a woman here, born
• 1:00:10
  Speaker 2: without legs and as you put it, living your best life.
• 1:00:14
  Speaker 2: When you look in the mirror, Jessica, what do you
• 1:00:16
  Speaker 2: see looking back at you?
• 1:00:19
  Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, I am just really proud of myself,
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 1: and I hope that the little Russian girl is proud too.
• 1:00:24
  Speaker 1: And I also see a woman maybe that just isn't
• 1:00:27
  Speaker 1: finished yet, just getting started.
• 1:00:30
  Speaker 3: Just getting started.
• 1:00:32
  Speaker 2: Right now, my friend, you have an opportunity to offer
• 1:00:36
  Speaker 2: yourself a piece of advice. Let's go back to that
• 1:00:39
  Speaker 2: second Paralympic Games when you felt as though that bronze
• 1:00:43
  Speaker 2: just wasn't good enough. You have an opportunity right now,
• 1:00:45
  Speaker 2: knowing what you know now, to give yourself some advice
• 1:00:49
  Speaker 2: looking back on that hurdle moment.
• 1:00:50
  Speaker 3: What do you tell yourself?
• 1:00:53
  Speaker 4: Oh gosh, this is such a good question and a
• 1:00:56
  Speaker 4: tough question.
• 1:00:57
  Speaker 1: I would first say, find your passion. I think can
• 1:01:00
  Speaker 1: be anything, and it is yours. You know, protect it,
• 1:01:03
  Speaker 1: love it, fight for it. And for me that passion
• 1:01:06
  Speaker 1: was swimming. But I think it's so important to show
• 1:01:08
  Speaker 1: it for yourself. To love yourself through the successes but
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 1: also and through the failures. You know it was really
• 1:01:14
  Speaker 1: really hard when I got that bronze metal. But looking back,
• 1:01:17
  Speaker 1: you're just gonna always have a perspective shift. So just
• 1:01:20
  Speaker 1: know that no matter what you're going through, it's still
• 1:01:21
  Speaker 1: important to show up and to just be proud of
• 1:01:23
  Speaker 1: yourself through any season of.
• 1:01:25
  Speaker 3: Life, any season of life.
• 1:01:29
  Speaker 2: Just curious on the regular, what would you say is
• 1:01:33
  Speaker 2: one of the most difficult parts of being an amputee?
• 1:01:37
  Speaker 1: Gosh, I think every day my legs still just they
• 1:01:39
  Speaker 1: still hurt, right, they still there can be every day
• 1:01:42
  Speaker 1: is unpredictable, so I am fitting into prosthetic legs that
• 1:01:46
  Speaker 1: are molded to my nubs. And if I'm swollen, if
• 1:01:49
  Speaker 1: I walk too much, if it's heat, if it's cold,
• 1:01:52
  Speaker 1: They're always different, they fluctuate. So I would just say
• 1:01:55
  Speaker 1: every day it's hard. But every day, you know, no
• 1:01:58
  Speaker 1: matter what, I can't, I will never have legs. But
• 1:02:00
  Speaker 1: I've just decided to make the best of it. And
• 1:02:02
  Speaker 1: it doesn't take away that it's hard, just because every
• 1:02:05
  Speaker 1: day is so unpredictable. But uh, I don't know. I
• 1:02:08
  Speaker 1: always like when I get a chance to take them off.
• 1:02:10
  Speaker 2: For sure, your perspective is so refreshing because there are
• 1:02:13
  Speaker 2: so many out there that are dealing with something maybe
• 1:02:17
  Speaker 2: it is similar to what you deal with on the regular,
• 1:02:19
  Speaker 2: maybe it's not, but have difficulty accepting the things that
• 1:02:23
  Speaker 2: they cannot control, accepting situations for what is, and you
• 1:02:27
  Speaker 2: recognize that it can be both right. It can be
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 2: something that's frustrating and you can also manage it.
• 1:02:34
  Speaker 1: I think some of my success also came from just
• 1:02:36
  Speaker 1: being angry. I think anger is such a powerful emotion,
• 1:02:40
  Speaker 1: and I think as long as you continue to work
• 1:02:42
  Speaker 1: through that anger. And for me, that anger came from adoption,
• 1:02:45
  Speaker 1: it came from the way I looked, It came from
• 1:02:46
  Speaker 1: the way I was born, It came from the pain
• 1:02:48
  Speaker 1: that I felt. It came from a lot of things
• 1:02:50
  Speaker 1: that were very very valid.
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 1: I think people it's okay to be angry with certain
• 1:02:53
  Speaker 1: things and to use that almost as fuel to the fire. Right,
• 1:02:57
  Speaker 1: I was angry about a lot of stuff, and I
• 1:02:58
  Speaker 1: took it out in swimming in a healthy way for me.
• 1:03:01
  Speaker 4: I mean, exercise and swim is healthy.
• 1:03:03
  Speaker 1: But I've also had to work really really hard through
• 1:03:05
  Speaker 1: that anger, and I've worked I'm still in therapy. I've
• 1:03:09
  Speaker 1: worked really really hard in therapy. And I actually was
• 1:03:11
  Speaker 1: a person who never believed in therapy and just thought
• 1:03:14
  Speaker 1: I could power through it. So I think for me,
• 1:03:16
  Speaker 1: it's just even leaving that with other people. Right, It's
• 1:03:19
  Speaker 1: okay to be angry about a situation or life or
• 1:03:21
  Speaker 1: even just the way that you were born.
• 1:03:22
  Speaker 4: But if you're not working.
• 1:03:23
  Speaker 1: Through it, it's going to eat you alive. And I
• 1:03:26
  Speaker 1: think it's so important to still work through it. And
• 1:03:29
  Speaker 1: I'm still I mean, there's still passion and anger at
• 1:03:32
  Speaker 1: times when I swim, but I'm always actively working through
• 1:03:35
  Speaker 1: it and knowing that no matter what, I have a
• 1:03:37
  Speaker 1: good life and I'm going to have the best life
• 1:03:40
  Speaker 1: no matter what, just because of my perspective.
• 1:03:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, your perspective is truly, truly remarkable. Just I'm so
• 1:03:46
  Speaker 2: happy that we were able to make the time for this.
• 1:03:48
  Speaker 2: You are, without a doubt inspiring so many, not just
• 1:03:52
  Speaker 2: that look like you, but of course to so many
• 1:03:55
  Speaker 2: others as well. So thank you for your time. For
• 1:03:58
  Speaker 2: those that don't follow you just yet, how do they
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 2: keep up with you? How do they follow along with you?
• 1:04:03
  Speaker 2: Give us your details?
• 1:04:04
  Speaker 1: Oh okay, so everyone can follow me on Jessica. My
• 1:04:09
  Speaker 1: username is Jessica Tatiana Long It's my Russian name. And
• 1:04:12
  Speaker 1: then I have a book coming out in September, and
• 1:04:14
  Speaker 1: I have a website Jessica on dot com.
• 1:04:15
  Speaker 3: But yeah, that's it.
• 1:04:17
  Speaker 2: I'm over at EMILYA. Bodi and at Hurdle Podcast. Another
• 1:04:20
  Speaker 2: Hurdle conquered. Catch you guys next time.