Filipino American swimmer Gia Pergolini has won gold at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
Pergolini has been identified by news outlets like the Phil Star as Filipino American. Her father, according to the Phil Star, is Italian American and her mother is from a Manila.
The 20-year-old won the gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke S13 win a time of 1:04:93, USA Today reports. She previously set the world record at another event with a time of 1:04:64.
“I’m just so happy to be here and representing one of the greatest countries in the world and getting its first gold medal Paralympics,” Pergolini said per USA Today. “It’s just unreal, especially after watching the Olympians dominate the Olympics, I wanted to do that here and I’m so glad I got to do that and end up achieving my goal.”
The young swimmer also won gold in the same event at the Tokyo Olympics when she was just 17.
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