Mackenzie Strong

Impairment information

Type of Impairment

Vision impairment

Origin of Impairment

Congenital

Classification

S13, SB13, SM13

Further personal information

Occupation

Student

Languages

English

Sport specific information

When and where did you begin this sport?

She began learning to swim at six months old.

Why this sport?

Doctors recommended she take part in swimming to improve her physical development, so her parents enrolled her in a special programme for babies.

Club / Team

Mundelein Mustang Swim Club [USA] / Mundelein High School [USA]:

Name of coach

Rahul Sethna [Mundelein High School], USA; Melissa Healy [Mustang SC], USA

General interest

Nicknames

Kenzi (Instagram profile, 16 Jul 2019)

Hero / Idol

US swimmer Michael Phelps. (lakecountygazette.com, 08 Dec 2016)

Sporting philosophy / motto

"What keeps me motivated the most is that I always think of other people with my condition, and I want to show them that it doesn't matter what condition you have or what obstacles you face; you can always do what you want to do. I guess I've always wanted to be a role model. Never let anything hold you back. As long as you communicate what you need, there's no reason why you can't do everything everyone else is doing." (lakecountygazette.com, 08 Dec 2016)

Ambitions

To compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (lakecountygazette.com, 08 Dec 2016)

Impairment

She was born with albinism and a visual impairment. (lakecountygazette.com, 08 Dec 2016)