Mallory Weggemann might just be the world's most dominating Paralympic athlete.
The Eagan native holds 33 American records and 15 world records. She won eight gold medals and one silver medal at the 2010 World Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands. She'll swim for glory in the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games in London.
Right now, however, the 22-year-old is locked in on winning one elusive award: an ESPY (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly).
Weggemann was nominated by ESPN for the Best Female Athlete with a Disability category for her dominance in the Netherlands, where she set nine world records. She was informed of her nomination when she was in Colorado Springs for a team camp, out for ice cream with friends.
"I was really excited when my dad gave me a call and told me," she said. "My goal for this year was to be nominated, but I didn't know how realistic that was. It really showed me that the hard work pays off. I've overcome a lot these past three years and to get to this point is really special."
In January 2008, Weggemann went into the hospital for a series of epidurals to alleviate severe back pain. Instead, she was paralyzed from the waist down and never walked out. While doctors remained optimistic that Weggemann would eventually regain feeling in her legs, the redemptive day never arrived.
So Weggemann took to the Paralympic swimming circuit and has dominated ever since, winning the past two USA Swimming Disabled Athlete of the Year awards. One of five nominees in her ESPY category, Weggemann is up against two-time gold medal skier Alana Nichols, 2010 Paratriathlon world champion Melissa Stockwell, world champion wheelchair racer Tatyana McFadden and world champion Allison Jones, a one-legged cyclist.
"I think it validates the quality of the athlete that she is," father Chris Weggemann said of the nomination. "It says a lot about what she's been able to achieve in such a short period of time, and it hopefully will put her on the world stage."
