Jessica Long

Long, a double below-knee amputee who swims in the S8 class, has competed at every Paralympics since Athens 2004, when she won three golds aged 12. By Paris 2024 she had 31 Paralympic medals, 18 of them gold, the latest a 100m butterfly title in Paris. Two decades at the top in an S8 class whose depth has grown enormously, and across freestyle, butterfly and medley, is the clearest measure of her quality.