Mallory Weggemann

Started: She began swimming at age seven. She took up Para swimming at age 18. (swimmingworldmagazine.com, 28 Mar 2019; startribune.com, 12 Nov 2009) Reason: In April 2008 one of her sisters took her to the University of Minnesota to watch the US swimming trials for the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. She was inspired to get back into the sport by the athletes she saw there. She then went to her campus swimming pool and connected with a coach. (teamusa.org, 26 Nov 2019; artfulliving.com, 23 May 2019; CNN, 12 Aug 2011) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (Instagram profile, 15 Nov 2021) Awards: In 2011 she won the ESPY award for Best Female Athlete with a Disability from sports broadcaster ESPN. (CNN, 12 Aug 2011) In 2009, 2010 and 2011 she was named Disabled Athlete of the Year by USA Swimming. (teamusa.org, 01 Dec 2013) In 2009 and 2010 she was named Female Disabled Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World Magazine. (teamusa.org, 01 Dec 2013) Additional Info: MOTHERHOOD She gave birth to her daughter Charlotte in March 2023. In December 2022 she won a silver medal at the US national championships while 26 weeks pregnant. "I was on the starting blocks 26 weeks pregnant, as a woman with a disability, in a wheelchair and there is that element in sport about the power to transcend the field of play and serve as the catalyst for something more and really change the narrative. I knew it was less about the race and more about what doing it would stand for. Just showcasing what women are capable of and what individuals with disabilities are capable of." (people.com, 21 Mar 2023; swimmingworldmagazine.com, 19 Jan 2023; nbcsports.com, 16 Dec 2022) OTHER ACTIVITIES In 2019 she and her husband Jeremy co-founded TFA Group, 'a diversified social impact agency and production studio that specialises in supporting brands and content within the Paralympic movement, adaptive sports and [the] disability community'. "I think representation is a huge part of how we find our path forward. It's really hard to become what you can't see. Impairment is often not talked about. It's not something we bring up. It's not something you see in the mainstream media." She is also a published journalist and was a commentator for NBC's coverage of the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (LinkedIn profile, 21 Mar 2023; mspmag.com, 11 Jan 2023; eone-time.com, 02 Dec 2022; cnn.com, 28 Nov 2021; minnpost.com, 01 Sep 2021; medium.com, 08 Mar 2021; NowThis Her YouTube channel, 25 Jul 2019) BOOK In March 2021 she released 'Limitless: The Power of Hope and Resilience', a memoir co-written by Tiffany Yecke Brooks. "This process of writing has given me the gift of time to process this journey, to honour it for all it has carried me through, and to know that we are all more than the circumstances we carry." (si.com, 21 Aug 2021; Facebook profile, 05 Mar 2021)