LI's Anastasia Pagonis Takes Home Gold In Tokyo Paralympics

TOKYO, JAPAN — Anastasia Pagonis, a 17-year-old from Garden City, took home Team USA's first gold medal Thursday in the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo, and set a new world record in the process.

Pagonis, a swimmer, beat the previous world record in the women's 400-meter freestyle swim of 5:02.19 — which was set in 2019 by Lisette Bruinsma of the Netherlands — during one of the qualifying races, when she finished with a time of 4:58.40. And then she broke that record again during the finals and took the gold with a time of 4:54.49 — beating her closest competitor by more than 10 seconds.

Pagonis starting losing her sight at age 11, and then completely lost it at 14. In an interview before the games, she said that losing her sight sent her into a deep depression, and she contemplated suicide. But then she found swimming.

It was rough going for her at first, because she had to learn new techniques to navigate in the water. She suffered injuries and broken bones, but kept practicing.

"Swimming is my outlet," the gold medalist said. "Swimming is a place where I feel free."

Pagonis isn't done competing yet, either. She will also be swimming in the women's 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle, and the women's 200-meter individual medley, which are coming up.