By Marta Karpovich (‘25)
On Thursday, February 20, six-time Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long spoke at a special assembly for SPSG Upper School Students. Long was invited to SPSG by senior Grace Gearhart as part of her SPIRITUS Scholars project, Taking Back Our Image.
SPIRITUS Scholars is a two-year cohort that students begin in their junior year at SPSG, and which culminates in a passion project that reflects students’ values and interests in the community. Grace Gearhart’s project, Taking Back Our Image, aims to “change the stereotypes of female athletes and body image” by showcasing stories that “express the strength and beauty of female athletes.” According to Grace Gearhart’s mission statement, Taking Back Our Image will help young female athletes “find stories with limitless potential to inspire them and allow them to feel more confident about themselves.”
Jessica Long is just one example of a strong female athlete that Grace has brought to the community’s attention. Long was born in Siberia, Russia and quickly put up for adoption by her birth mother because of a rare birth defect called fibular hemimelia, which means that she did not have fibulas, ankles or heels. At 13 months old, she was adopted by the Long family of Baltimore, and at 18 months, both of her legs were amputated from the knees down. After joining her first competitive swim team at ten-years-old, Long found that the sport increased her self-confidence and made her feel powerful as a young girl. Despite the struggles of being a double-amputee, swimming helped Long focus on what her body was capable of rather than what it could not do. She went on to win 18 gold medals at the Paralympics throughout the next 22 years.
In Long’s speech to SPSG students, she said that “it’s so easy to get caught up with all of the things that I so-called ‘can’t do,’ and that’s a really dangerous place and a really tough place to live in. I really [try to] focus on what I can do and my strengths, and to take time to just focus on myself in a positive way…. I think that’s one of the most important things, to believe in yourself and to find confidence in yourself, to keep moving forward through all the tough days.”
Long also went on to discuss how she and her teammates on the USA Paralympics team have tried to change the language around women’s bodies in sports. Often, the capabilities of women’s bodies are disregarded in competitive sports, instead reduced to what they look like compared to beauty standards. Long said that her teammates challenge reporters when asked about the appearance of their bodies, commenting “We’re not going to talk about our bodies. We’re going to talk about what they can DO.”
SPSG students were moved by Long’s message and expressed the importance of hearing from a strong role model like Long, who showed them the power of perseverance and confidence in one’s abilities.
Grace Gearhart will continue to bring other stories of strong female athletes to the St. Paul’s community through Taking Back Our Image, as she shares her message with Lower Schoolers, Middle Schoolers and High Schoolers alike.
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