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96
JULY 2012
•
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
ZIMBABWE
8
TUNISIA
7
ISRAEL
7
UGANDA
6
PUERTO
RICO
6
ONE TOWATCH
JESSICA LONG
SWIMMING, PARALYMPICS
Most 12-year-olds’ greatest
achievements have to do with, say,
the school dance. Jessica Long’s, on
the other hand, involved three gold
medals. Since then, she’s become
not only the most dominant
Paralympic athlete in the world, but
also arguably the most dominant
athlete in any Games. She holds 20
world records, she has nine medals
(seven golds) in two Paralympic
Games and, in 2007, she received
the Amateur Athletic Union’s Sul-
livan Award for best U.S. amateur
athlete, the only time that honor
has gone to a Paralympian.
Long’s background is equally
incredible. Born in Irkutsk, Siberia,
she was adopted by an American
couple when she was just over
a year old. Five months later it
was discovered she had fibular
hemimelia, and both her legs had
to be amputated. Nonetheless,
using prostheses, she became
active in a wide range of sports.
After a triumphant 2011—in
which she won six golds at
the Can-AmOpen Swimming
Championships and nine
gold medals at the Pan-
Pacific Para-Swimming
Championships, and was
named Disabled Swimmer
of the Year by
Swimming
World
magazine—Long is
poised to again set records
in London. The scariest
part? She’s only 20.
The 2012 London
Paralympic Games will
run fromAug. 29
to Sept. 9.
The Lay of the Land
A handy guide to what will be happening where and
when, in London’s Olympic Park (and beyond)
1
OPENING
CEREMONY:
7/27
2
ARCHERY:
7/27–8/3
3
BADMINTON:
7/28–8/5
4
BASKETBALL:
7/28–8/12
5
BEACH VOLLEYBALL:
7/28–8/3, 8/5–8/9
6
BOXING:
7/28–8/12
7
CANOE/KAYAK:
7/29–8/2, 8/6–8/11
OUTSIDE LONDON
8
CYCLING:
7/28–7/29,
8/1–8/12
MULTIPLE VENUES
9
DIVING:
7/29–8/1,
8/3–8/11
10
EQUESTRIAN:
7/28–7/31,
8/2–8/9
11
FENCING:
7/28–8/5
12
FIELDHOCKEY:
7/29–8/11
13
GYMNASTICS:
7/28–8/2,
8/5–8/7
14
HANDBALL:
7/28–8/12
15
JUDO:
7/28–8/3
16
MODERN PENTATHLON:
8/11–8/12
17
RHYTHMIC
GYMNASTICS:
8/9–8/12
18
ROWING:
7/28–8/4
OUTSIDE LONDON
19
SAILING:
7/29–8/11
OUTSIDE LONDON
20
SHOOTING:
7/28–8/6
21
SOCCER:
7/25–7/26
7/28–7/29, 7/31–8/1, 8/3–
8/4, 8/6–8/7, 8/9–8/11
MULTIPLE VENUES
22
SWIMMING:
7/28–8/4,
8/9–8/10
23
SYNCHRONIZED
SWIMMING:
8/5–8/7,
8/9–8/10
24
TABLE TENNIS:
7/28–8/8
25
TAEKWONDO:
8/8–8/11
26
TENNIS:
7/28–8/5
27
TRACK AND FIELD:
8/3–8/12
28
TRAMPOLINE:
8/3–8/4
29
TRIATHLON:
8/4, 8/7
30
VOLLEYBALL:
7/28–8/12
31
WATER POLO:
7/29–
8/10, 8/12
32
WEIGHTLIFTING:
7/28–8/1, 8/3–8/7
33
WRESTLING:
8/5–8/12
34
CLOSINGCEREMONY:
8/12
GUANG NIU/GETTY IMAGES (LONG)