HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Multiple athletes from the Charlotte area are competing for medals in the Paralympics that are taking place in Tokyo. WCNC Charlotte took some time to speak with a Charlotte college swimmer who has had success in the Paralympics before: Hannah Aspden.
Back in 2016 she made her Paralympics debut at just 16 and won two bronze medals.
She competed in Heat 2 for Women's 100m Breakstroke - SB8 at 10:05 p.m. ET on Aug. 25, coming in sixth in her heat with a finish time of 1:32.40. While she did not advance to the finals, she has other events coming up.
Aspden competed Sunday, Aug. 29, at 8:19 p.m. ET in Women's 100m backstroke S9 in Heat 2 where she finished in first place and will swim again Monday night at 9:36 p.m. ET in Heat 1 of Women's 100m freestyle S9.
"I'm feeling really good about where my training is right now and feeling pretty confident," Aspden said.
A native of Raleigh, she was born without her left leg. She liked other sports growing up, but swimming stood out.
"I fell in love with the water I really found my home in the water and found that it was a place where it was a more even playing field and it was somewhere that I could do what everybody else could do I could get in and you know, my disability didn't hold me back," Aspden told WCNC Charlotte's Nick Carboni.
Aspden hopes to bring more awareness to the sport and inspiration to young swimmers.
"I would say to believe in yourself, work hard and you know set, set high goals because nothing is impossible," said Aspden.
For the next two weeks, you can watch Team USA on NBC Sports Network or live on the peacock streaming app. To view results from the Paralympic Games, click here.
Contact Nick Carboni at ncarboni@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.