I was put up for adoption by a 16-year-old Russian girl
who just couldn't take care of me.
But during this time there was an American couple
who had two children, they tried for about 10 years,
so they decided to adopt me and another little boy
in the same orphanage who was born with a cleft lip.
Basically it means that I was missing all
the bones in my lower legs.
Later my parents decided to amputate
so I could wear the prosthetic legs
and just be able to walk normally.
(piano music)
I was always really active,
and I loved being active I think partly because
with what I was born with,
So finding a sport was one of the most
important things that I could do, and just to fit in.
I joined the team.
No one knew I was missing legs.
But for me the water has always been a place
that I feel strong and capable.
I fell in love with swimming,
and I knew that I wanted to be really, really great.
I knew that I wanted to win a gold medal,
but I was not even expected to go to Athens.
I'd only been swimming for two years,
joined a team. But I think, you know,
I think when you're adopted,
I don't know if there's something there
just this feeling of wanting to prove yourself,
there's this feeling of abandonment,
and I think that really came out,
especially around that age, and just all of a sudden,
you know, the idea of getting a gold medal
was like, everything, right?
Like, I just had to do it.
And I went to Athens, somehow made the team,
shocked my parents, shocked myself,
and then won the three gold medals
My drive has been so all the over the place, right?
From a 12-year-old to 16 it was just proving myself,
proving my worth, and then, you know,
20 years old, I just decided that I was gonna have fun,
and enjoy the talent that I've been given.
Rio was a real challenge, Rio was really, really tough.
It's easy to say that a gold medal
doesn't mean anything, right?
If you win it, if you don't,
but like, that hit me pretty hard
when I, I didn't have the greatest performance.
(techno music)
It was just a burn out year.
So here I am now, and what does still drive me is,
is a love for the sport, but also,
giving back to the sport, right?
I mean, imagine where we would be in this world
if we all just continued to give back
to what made us who we are?
And for me that's swimming, and Paralympics,
and it's a pretty good gig.
But more than that, you know it's not always easy
being an amputee, it's not always easy competing
in a sport and being the only one just different, right?
You look around and you know you're different.
But hoping to give that confidence
to the next group of kids.
Social media is amazing and I love it,
and I love that it gives us this platform to share
our stories, 'cause everyone has such a unique story,
and what I love so much when I see other Paralympic athletes
showing off their prosthetic leg,
that really means a lot to me,
and that wasn't around when I was younger.
So I truly thought that I was the only one on Earth.
Embracing my legs has probably just been
the longest, like battles, right?
I couldn't stand it when people stared,
people stared at me all the time, mostly just my legs,
and I understood that kids were curious,
but when adults would stare and I was this sassy,
little Russian girl, I was like,
"I'm gonna go talk to them, Mom" and she'd be like,
"Let it go, it's fine, you're different."
I've just decided to embrace me,
and I hope that it encourages the next little girl or boy
with missing a leg or two.
(uplifting music)
I've decided that I don't have any time to waste,
and to just embrace it,
and I've got a lot of different sets of legs,
but these new legs I just got are like,
carbon fiber, pole legs.
'Cause I feel like half human, half robot,
and it's this cool feeling that it's like,
yeah, thank God I don't have legs,
like, I get to stand out and it's pretty cool.