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Roundup: Jamal Hill Checks In From The Athletes’ Council In Lausanne, And More

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by Karen Price

Every other week we scour the web for the latest going on in the world of U.S. Para swimming. Here’s what you missed!


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The 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles will be here before you know it, and Jamal Hill is getting ready.


Not only is the Los Angeles native and two-time Paralympian looking to make his third team and swim in front of a hometown crowd, but he’s also helping with the preparations. Hill posted a video while treading water in Lake Geneva — literally — after joining the LA28 Athletes’ Council in Lausanne for the International Athletes’ Forum. 


He wrote, “To every Team USA athlete preparing to come home to LA28, and to athletes around the world: we hear you, we see you, and we’re building with your voice in mind.


“Athletes aren’t just competing in 2028 — we’re shaping it.”


Check out his video and hear more about the trip here:

And Speaking Of LA 2028…

The organizers of the Paralympic Games Los Angeles 2028 recently announced their venue plan, with the swimming events being slated for the Convention Center Lot in Long Beach. This will be the first time since 1984 that the Olympic and Paralympic swimming venues will be in different locations.

See the full LA 28 venue plan here.


Talking With Nuhfer

Kristi Capel is an anchor on FOX 8 in Cleveland and host of the podcast “Off Air with Kristi Capel,” and her latest episode features none other than Grace Nuhfer.


Capel introduced the 2024 Paralympic silver medalist in a series of Instagram posts, writing: “Grace graduated from @uakron and has overcome physical challenges to compete at the college and international levels. She’s legally blind due to brittle cornea syndrome. Grace broke the American record in the 200-meter butterfly! Now she has her eyes set on the 2028 (Paralympic) Games! Go Grace!!!”

Check out this preview of the interview here:

And the full episode is available here.


A Bittersweet Congratulations

There have been a lot of emotions in recent weeks for Morgan Stickney. While the two-time Paralympian continues to mourn the passing of her stepfather, she said in a recent post that the week before he passed, she learned that not only had she been accepted into her dream grad school: Tufts University School of Medicine and Public Health. 


She wrote, “I know one of my biggest cheerleaders will always be rooting me on from above and I can’t even begin to imagine how proud he is of me. I love you forever and ever, Donnie ❤️ I know you are SO incredibly proud of me!”

Celebrating International Albinism Awareness Day

Colleen Young won’t let a June 13th pass without a few words about International Albinism Awareness Day and all that albinism has brought to her life.


The four-time Paralympian wrote, “My life, even through its toughest moments, would be completely different if I didn’t have albinism. I may be visually impaired from my condition, but that’s given me the foundation to be confident, headstrong, and determined to prove people wrong in every aspect of my life. I’ve been so fortunate to meet little kids who also have albinism and have become someone they can look at and say ‘she did it that means I can do it too!’ & that’s a feeling I wouldn’t trade for the world. Also, every middle aged woman wants my hair color and you CANNOT get that in a salon 💅🏻💁🏼‍♀️. I love my condition & I love my life :)”

Sapp Focusing On His Well-Being

Two-time Paralympian Lawrence Sapp will not be joining Team USA at the world championships in Singapore later this year, but he took to social media to let his followers know that it’s OK. Sapp said he’ll be focusing on his physical and mental health and working hard in school, and that this isn’t the end of his swimming career.


He wrote, “There is more future ahead of me. I still love this sport, we always move on and keeps pushing through. I want to let my friends Team USA know. Good luck this year, Good luck TEAM USA 🇺🇸 who got selected for World champs to Singapore you guys going to do great! 👍🏾. I will be back!!”

El-Demerdash Also Sitting Out Singapore

Yaseen El-Demerdash was selected for his first world championships, a goal of his for years, but while he’s grateful for the opportunity the 2024 Paralympian also shared recently that it’s not one he accepted.


“After talking with my coaches and family, I decided to decline my selection to focus on graduating this fall, completing my 3rd internship with @burnsmcdonnell, as well as finishing up a project I'm super excited to announce soon!” he wrote. “A massive thank you to my amazing coaches, trainers, and PTs for getting me to this point. Thank you to @mizunoswimusa and @lawrence_aquahawks for their support this past year. And most of all thank you to my family, I'm truly blessed! Good luck to all the athletes competing in Singapore!! 💙💙”

Kubiak Swimming For A Cause

Katie Kubiak will be honoring and remembering friends and all those who’ve battled and are battling cancer on June 27 when she swims a mile in participation with Swim Across America. 


She wrote, “The particular swim I will be participating in is raising funds for both immunotherapy research and pediatric oncology research, the latter of which receives only 4% of all government-allocated cancer research funding despite being the leading cause of death by disease in the United States for children and young adults under the age of 20.”


Read more and learn how to donate below:

Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic and Paralympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to USParaSwimming.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.

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