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US swimmer Leanne Smith wins Paralympic record gold two years after a partial lung collapse

American swimmer Leanne Smith has done what would have been impossible for many: she won the Paralympic record gold medal just two years after suffering a partial lung collapse.

The 36-year-old from Massachusetts won the women's 100 m freestyle S3 on Tuesday with a lightning-fast record time of 1:28.81.

She was followed by Marta Fernández Infante of Spain, who won silver, and Rachael Watson of Australia, who won bronze.

After her victory, Smith described her win as “emotional.”

“It's been a tough two years, you know, and to be able to walk, eat and even talk again after a setback two years ago has been a tough battle and it's been a tough battle day in and day out,” Smith said. “Making it to Paris was the first step and then of course that moment wasn't really in my mind anymore. I dreamed about it and never gave up hope for it but there's always that little doubt that creeps in. But I can't believe I was able to recover from everything and come home with a gold medal this time too.”

In 2022, Smith revealed on Instagram that she had been admitted to the emergency room on August 26 of that year due to difficulty breathing. She learned that she had a partially collapsed lung and was admitted to the intensive care unit.

“My body began to deteriorate rapidly. My heart rate and blood pressure dropped to rock bottom and still do. I had to stay on bed rest. Atrophy set in rapidly, I could no longer breathe normally, speak, swallow, eat solid food and control the muscles around my left eye,” she wrote.

She was transferred to a rehabilitation clinic where she received intensive therapy and learned to speak, swallow and eat again.

Despite everything, she clung to the hope of regaining her independent life and returning to the water, which she described as “the only place where I am truly happy.”

After two years of therapy and determination, she was able to surpass her wildest dreams.

“I just think that everyone goes through difficult situations and tough times. And I saw that with my teammates, day in and day out, in an inpatient rehab facility, where people's lives are turned upside down by accidents or different types of injuries. And you're in those environments and you just look around and you know that people are still much worse off than you,” she explained.

Smith said that despite everything, she was “determined to defy all odds and succeed, even despite my disability.”

“I want to prove to everyone out there who has ever doubted that I will ever be able to contribute to society and just be a human being confined to a wheelchair that I can do it. And I really try to shatter that expectation every day to show others not to listen to them. You can do it too if you just put your mind to it,” Smith added.

Smith, who was diagnosed with dystonia, a rare neurological muscle disorder, in January 2012, began swimming in 2013 as part of an aquatic rehabilitation session. She first competed at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, winning silver in the 100m freestyle S3.

In this round in Paris, according to Team USA, in addition to her gold medal, she won silver with the 4 x 50 m freestyle relay with 20 points – mixed and took 9th place in the 150 m individual medley SM4.

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