By Ashley Pavlakis
Cover photo: Anastasia Pagonis (Credit – The United States Olympic, Paralympic Team)
The 2024 Olympic Games took place earlier this summer in Paris, France. For two-and-a-half weeks, people around the globe crowded around their televisions to cheer on their country in thirty-two different sports. Long Island saw three of their own compete at the Olympics in soccer, basketball, and swimming. Now, Anastasia Pagonis, a swimmer from Garden City, is set to compete at the Paralympic games over the next two weeks.
Anastasia Pagonis is a two-time Olympic swimmer, having competed in Tokyo as a 17-year-old. The now 20-year-old American has set a world record (WR) and an American record in her sport. Pagonis took home gold and bronze medals in the 2020 games, returning in 2024 looking for more.
Pagonis is a Paralympian, which means the athletes competing have some form of disability that falls under one of 10 allowable impairment types deemed by the International Paralympic Committee. In the case of Pagonis, she’s categorized under vision impairment. The freestyle swimmer has a disability called Autoimmune retinopathy. The disease caused Pagonis to begin to lose her sight at age 11, before losing it entirely by age 14. Swimming had been a constant activity in her life, having been there since before she lost her vision. Her training may look a bit different, but the end goal is still the same.
Pagonis’ disability class is S11, which means swimmers in the designated class are considered to be totally blind and therefore must wear blackened goggles. Pagonis recently debuted two new sets of special goggles for the 2024 games, one pair with U.S.A. and the American flag, and another with the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower. Showcasing the iconic Lady Liberty on her goggles while in the pool is a reminder of where she’s from. Although her family is originally from Greece, Tas [nickname], is a New Yorker.
While some might let their disability hinder them, Pagonis has not wavered. She’s used it as an opportunity to educate people about blindness on social media through TikTok and Instagram. The world champion also has a companion to keep her company and help guide her when needed. Radar, a labrador retriever, serves as Pagonis’ eyes in his job as a guide dog.
“He’s [Radar] changed my life. I didn’t have any freedom or independence before him. Now that I have him, I feel like a totally different person,” said Pagonis, in a 2021 interview with NBC News.
In a video produced by the Olympic Committee in 2021, Pagonis expressed how swimming plays an important role in her life. She described the sport as her happy place, somewhere she feels free. Losing one of your senses entirely is tough, but Tas has taken on the task of not letting the loss of vision get in the way of her dreams.
Long Island native, Anastasia Pagonis, an inspiration to those around her, looks to change the way we “see” the visually impaired in the pool and throughout life.
