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Anastasia Pagonis

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Anastasia Pagonis
Pagonis in 2020
Personal information
NicknameTas
NationalityAmerican
Born (2004-05-02) May 2, 2004 (age 20)
Long Island, New York
Home townGarden City, New York
Height5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Sport
SportParalympic swimming
DisabilityAutoimmune retinopathy
Disability classS11
Medal record
Women's paralympic swimming
Representing  United States
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo 400 m freestyle S11
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo 200 m ind. medley SM11
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Madeira 100 m freestyle S11
Gold medal – first place 2022 Madeira 400 m freestyle S11
Gold medal – first place 2022 Madeira 200 m ind. medley SM11

Anastasia Pagonis (Greek: Αναστασία Παγώνης; born May 2, 2004) is an American Paralympic swimmer. She represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. She is a world record and American record holder within the sport.[1]

Career

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Pagonis made her international debut at the 2020 WPS World Series event in Melbourne, Australia in February 2020, where she won gold in the 400 metre freestyle and won a bronze medal in the 200 metre medley. She also finished eighth in the 50 metre freestyle and fourth in the 100 metre freestyle.[1]

At the US Paralympic trials, Pagonis set the world 400 metre freestyle S11 record twice, once during the prelims, then again during the finals. These records were not yet ratified before the 2020 Summer Paralympics began.[2] In June 2021 it was announced that Pagonis was named to Team USA, competing in swimming at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan.[3][4]

At just 17-years-old, Pagonis represented the United States in the women's 400 metre freestyle S11 event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics where she set the S11 class world record in the preliminary heat with a time of 4:58.40.[5] Pagonis broke the world record again during finals with a time of 4:54.49 to win gold, her first Paralympic medal and the United States' first gold medal at the Paralympics.[6][7] She competed in the women's 200 metre individual medley SM11 event where she set an American record with a time of 2:45:61 and won a bronze medal.[8]

On April 14, 2022, Pagonis was named to the roster to represent the United States at the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships.[9] She made her World Championships debut on June 15, 2022, and won a gold medal in the 200 metre individual medley SM11 event with a time of 2:49.73.[10]

Pagonis underwent shoulder surgery in June 2023, and returned to swimming and training for the 2024 Summer Paralympics in December 2023.[11][12]

Personal life

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Pagonis' diagnosis is autoimmune retinopathy which caused her sight to deteriorate rapidly at the age of 11, and she lost her vision by the age of 14.[13] She has a guide dog named Radar, which she says changed her life and helped her with the depression she had due to her vision loss.[13][14] She shares videos on TikTok and Instagram educating people about blindness.[15] Her family is from Greece.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Anastasia Pagonis". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on June 16, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  2. ^ McCormick, Jack (June 19, 2021). "Anastasia Pagonis Sets World Record in 400 Free at Day 2 of Paralympic Trials". swimswam.com. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  3. ^ "United States name 34 swimmers on Tokyo 2020 Paralympic team". insidethegames.biz. June 22, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  4. ^ Bonfiglio, Briana (August 24, 2021). "Long Island's Anastasia Pagonis Competing in Tokyo Paralympic Games". Long Island Press. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  5. ^ de George, Matthew (August 25, 2021). "Americans Anastasia Pagonis, Gia Pergolini Set World Records on Night 2 of Paralympics Prelims". swimmingworldmagazine.com. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  6. ^ Ruiz, Mike (August 24, 2021). "Garden City swimmer Anastasia Pagonis wins gold medal at Tokyo Paralympics". Newsday. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  7. ^ "Anastasia Pagonis, 17, breaks own world record, wins U.S.' first gold medal of Tokyo Paralympics". olympics.nbcsports.com. August 24, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  8. ^ "Women's 200m individual medley - SM11 - Finals Results" (PDF). Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 30, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  9. ^ Gowdy, Kristen (April 14, 2022). "U.S. Paralympics Swimming Nominates 25 athletes to World Championship Roster". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  10. ^ "Madeira 2022: Anastasia Pagonis repeats Tokyo with debut gold medal". paralympic.org. June 15, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  11. ^ Zuckerman, Suzanne (September 7, 2023). "You Should Know World Champion Swimmer Anastasia Pagonis". bustle.com. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  12. ^ "Anastasia Pagonis". Paris 2024 Paralympics. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Anastasia Pagonis: This is my message". Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. August 21, 2021. Archived from the original on August 24, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  14. ^ Reeder, Jen (August 23, 2021). "Blind teen swimmer and guide dog make 'perfect pair' in Paralympics quest". today.com. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  15. ^ "Anastasia Pagonis is battling for her first gold at the Paralympics. On TikTok, she fights to normalize blindness". The Washington Post. August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
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