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USA Paralympic Swimmer Jessica Long On The Upcoming Rio Olympic Games

Jessica Long is a highly decorated US Paralympic swimmer from Baltimore, MD who is also a world record holder.

Jessica joined Ed and Steve to talk about this month marking the one year countdown to the Rio Olympics.

Steve asked Jessica about her relationship with fellow swimming great Michael Phelps and whether or not there is a friendly competition between the two as their respective medal counts continue to grow. Jessica acknowledged that there is a friendly competition between them though, "he's got 18 gold medals and I only have 12 so I have some catching up to do, but to me he's always willing to help with my strokes, as are all of my teammates, he's just an outstanding guy."

Ed asked Jessica about what she thinks we can do to increase exposure of the Paralympic Games. Jessica said, "I think Rio is going to be a phenomenal event in 2016. I think we just have to get people more aware by continuing to spread the word."

Jessica continued by talking about her journey as a Paralympic athlete, how she first got into competitive swimming, and meeting with her biological family in Russia for the first time since her adoption. She finished by discussing the message she would like people to receive when hearing the Jessica Long story which is that she has "always had the power in the way people view my disability."

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