Jessica Long Finishes Paralympics with Eight Medals

By the time the Paralympic cauldron was extinguished in London on Sunday night, Middle River Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long owned eight medals.

The double-amputee swimmer, who started her competitive career with the Dundalk-Eastfield Swim Club, finished the London games with a bronze medal performance—with teammates Susan Beth Scott, Anna Johannes Alexandria and Mallory Weggeman—in the 4X100-meter medley relay.

Her medal haul also included five golds and two silvers.

"Thank you for all the support and love," Long wrote on her Facebook page Saturday. "Can't wait until Rio."

Since her first Paralympic appearance as a 12-year-old in Athens in 2004, Long, 20, has won 17 Paralympic medals.

She stunned the international swim scene when she won three gold medals in Athens.

As a known competitive threat, she earned six medals—four golds, a silver and a bronze—in Beijing four years ago.

She no doubt expects to add to her medal collection in Rio in 2016.