| Hat tip Tom Maguire. |
"It's so cool to be the first paralympian to win," said Long, who because of lower leg anomalies had her legs amputated below the knee when she was 18 months old. "It's a huge honor. I just like to swim."
Long, 15, won nine gold medals at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming World Championships in Durban, South Africa, last year. She had 18 world record-breaking performances on the year and holds the record in 12 events.
She was also named the U.S. Olympic Committee's 2006 Paralympian of the Year.