Mallory Weggemann (born March 26, 1989) is an American Paralympic swimmer.

Career

She became a T10-

complete Complete may refer to: Logic * Completeness (logic) * Completeness of a theory, the property of a theory that every formula in the theory's language or its negation is provable Mathematics * The completeness of the real numbers, which implies t ...

paraplegic after an epidural injection to treat post-shingles back pain in 2008.Paralympic swimmer Mallory Weggemann sets US record
She broke many world records in the S7 classification, and won multiple gold medals at the

IPC Swimming World Championships The World Para Swimming Championships, known before 30 November 2016 as the IPC Swimming World Championships, are the world championships for swimming where athletes with a disability compete. They are organised by the International Paralympic C ...

in 2009 and 2010. At the

2012 Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Game ...

, she was controversially reclassified to S8, a class for swimmers with less impairment. She won the S8 50 metre freestyle event in a new Paralympic record time. Just under four months after becoming paralyzed Mallory was back in the pool, with her eyes on gold at the

2012 Paralympic Games The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

. Having achieved that goal, she decided it was time to chase her dream, to walk again. For years, this was something that was deemed impossible, but a new possibility arose and in order to achieve her goal, Mallory reached out to the public to ask for their support through a crowd funding Indiegogo campaign. On November 16, 2013, Mallory was able to "walk" again for the first time in nearly six years, with the aid of customized leg braces and forearm crutches. Weggemann trained for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and actively building upon her career outside of the pool through motivational speaking. Mallory was featured in "The Current," a documentary produced by Make A Hero, a non-profit organization focused on inspiring individuals with disabilities to enjoy the freedom of adaptive sports. In June 2021 the US announced the 34 Paralympic swimmers who would be going to the delayed

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

in Tokyo. The women's team was Weggemann,

Jessica Long Jessica Tatiana Long (born February 29, 1992) is a Russian-American Paralympic swimmer from Baltimore, Maryland, who competes in the S8, SB7 and SM8 category events. She has held many world records and competed at five Paralympic Games, winnin ...

, McKenzie Coan, Rebecca Meyers and Elizabeth Marks. Weggmann would go on to win several medals and break two records during the Tokyo Games. On April 14, 2022, Weggemann was named to the roster to represent the United States at the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships.

Honors and awards

* World Disabled Swimmer of the Year - 2009, 2010 * USA Swimming Disabled Swimmer of the Year ( Trischa L. Zorn Award) - 2009, 2010, 2011 *

Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award The Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award is an annual award honoring the achievements of a female individual from the community of disabled sports. Established with the aid of disability advocate and former United States men's Paralym ...

- 2011

Personal life

She lives in

Eagan, Minnesota Eagan ( ) is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota. It is south of Saint Paul and lies on the south bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from the confluence with the Mississippi River. Eagan and the other nearby suburbs form the southern section o ...

.Team USA: Mallory Weggemann
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References

External links

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Mallory Weggemann on Trans World Sport

Mallory Weggemann - "Triumph over Tragedy" TEDx UNPlaza

Mallory Weggemann - "The Journey of New Mobility" Part 1

ERM Speaking Engagement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weggemann, Mallory 1989 births Living people American disabled sportspeople American female freestyle swimmers S8-classified Paralympic swimmers Paralympic swimmers of the United States Paralympic gold medalists for the United States Paralympic silver medalists for the United States Paralympic bronze medalists for the United States Paralympic medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2015 Parapan American Games American people of German descent Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships People with paraplegia World record holders in paralympic swimming Sportspeople from Lawrence, Kansas People from Eagan, Minnesota University of Minnesota alumni 21st-century American women American female medley swimmers