It was a golden Paralympic race in the pool for Mallory Weggemann [1], who, on Aug. 27, clinched a first-place finish in the women's 200m individual medley for SM7 athletes [2]. Fellow Team USA member Ahalya Lettenberger, in her Paralympic debut, received silver, and Australia's Tiffany Thomas Kane came in third to claim bronze. Weggemann, 32, set a Paralympic record of 2:54.25 [3] during her preliminary race, and her winning time in the finals was 2:55.48.
This is Weggemann's third Paralympic medal — second gold [4] — and third Games of her career. It is the first time she's earned a place on a Paralympic podium since London 2012. After the final leg of the Aug. 27 race — the freestyle portion — she and Lettenberger embraced in a hug, all smiles.
Weggemann was paralyzed from the waist down when she was 19 [5], and she overcame a major injury to her left arm in 2014. Weggemann, also a 17-time world championship medalist, wrote a short but powerful message on her Instagram Story following her recent individual medley victory: "Absolutely no words right now other than this... DREAMS ARE RESILIENT."
According to Swimming World Magazine, Weggemann further said after the fact, "This has been a very long fight [6] and there has been a lot of circumstances that have come around through this journey. I'm just filled with pride that I get to be with Team USA and I get to represent my family, my community and that I have that love and support to surround me."
Weggemann is competing in five more swimming events this Paralympics [7]. Check out footage and photos from the 200m SM7 individual medley final competition ahead.