U.S. Para Swimmers Reflect on The Highs of 2025 and Look Forward to 2026

As we celebrate the beginning of a new year, many of the U.S. Para swimmers who made an impact this past season at meets both domestic and abroad are looking forward to what the next 12 months will bring. 

Whether that’s a move, graduation, lots more swimming or even starting a family, we caught up with a handful of athletes and asked what they’re looking forward to in 2026. 

Here’s what they had to say.  

Paralympian Noah Jaffe looks back on 2025 as a building year. He finished his undergraduate degree in biochemistry at University of California, Berkeley and competed at his second world championships. He plans to attend medical school and return to the Paralympic Games when Los Angeles hosts in 2028. But between now and then, he’s open to anything. 

“I don’t really know what I’m going to do next, and that’s the exciting part,” Jaffe told U.S. Para Swimming this fall. “I have the freedom to figure out what I want to do and how I want to approach the next few years.” 

One immediate goal is to find a good place to train. The Carlsbad, California, native said he could stay local and find a program, but he could also relocate if he finds a good fit. 

“I’m keeping my options open,” he said. 

Taylor Winnett is also looking at a 2026 that could go many different ways. The biggest reason why is because she and her husband want to start their family.  

“I’ve been talking with a lot of different athletes, and I really look up to some of the athletes on the team who are mothers or thinking of becoming mothers, because we can be strong, powerful athletes and mothers,” she said. “They’re not exclusive of each other.” 

Winnett said between her back injury and Ehlers Danlers Syndrome she is at risk of fertility issues, but her and her husband are looking into becoming licensed foster parents to give themselves more options. 

“We’re open to all the options,” she said. “So I might be swimming at a lot of meets (next year), but we just don’t know because I could be pregnant next month,” she said. “You don’t know unless you try. But I do plan to keep training and being fit and if I don’t get pregnant, I’m ready to race. There’s lots of uncertainty, but we’ll see. I plan to stick around.” 

Gia Pergolini is a senior at Florida International University and will graduate in 2026 with a degree in communications, so that’s one big goal that she’ll check off the to-do list.  

When it comes to swimming, Pergolini is hoping to compete in the Para Pan Pacific Championships in August and said she’d love to travel to Australia for the Para Swimming World Series meet in February. But overall, she’s looking forward to having a casual year. 

“A breather year,” she said. “I just want to have options and obviously still do well and swim in the range of my best times, but no stress and no pressure this year.” 

Pergolini’s training for the Paralympics will kick up a notch in 2027, so she’s planning to prioritize her mental health this year and not let swimming take over her life, she said.  

Lawrence Sapp is another Paralympian who’ll be graduating from college in 2026. The University of Missouri-St. Louis senior capped off this year with a strong showing at the final World Series meet of the season in Lima, Peru, with gold and the “B” team national cut for the 100-meter butterfly S14 and a personal best in the 100-meter backstroke. 

“When I wasn’t in the pool, I was resting, making friends and going to activities,” he said of his 2025. “In 2026, I am looking forward to doing more competitions and graduating from college.” 

Eden Schroeder is currently pursuing one of her biggest goals in life: a doctorate in clinical psychology. She already counsels newly injured patients at the Shepherd Center for spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation in Atlanta and wants to build a career helping people with spinal cord injuries navigate and build their new lives.  

In swimming, she hopes to inspire more S1 athletes — the classification for those who have the least amount of function — to get involved with the sport. Currently she’s the only S1 female swimmer in the U.S., and the lack of S1 women worldwide in the sport means that the classification isn’t currently included in the Paralympic program. 

“I hope that lower classes do want to get involved and see that I’m able to do it,” said Schroeder, who was paralyzed from the chest down after diving from a boat and hitting a sandbar. “But despite not being able to be on Team USA (I want to show) that you can still put yourself out there and enjoy the sport and do something you love and meet good people through it.” 

She also hopes to return to the Para Swim World Series meet held in Indianapolis each summer. 

“It’s international and there are other countries there despite being on U.S. soil,” she said. “It’s so cool to see yourself on the big screen and see ‘USA’ next to your name. I’m looking forward to that.” 

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.