Paralympian Keegan Knott is a freshman at Northern Arizona University and, like many first-semester students, had a lot of big classes this fall.

Which made it a little awkward when she had to introduce herself to her professors early in the semester while asking for accommodations so she could travel to Santiago, Chile, and swim for Team USA at the Parapan American Games Santiago 2023.

“It was kind of a lot at first because none of them knew how to react,” Knott said. “They were like, ‘Oh, so this is with the (school) swimming and diving team?’ And I had to say no, I’m on the national team and this is an opportunity I’ve been given to compete.”

Fortunately, Knott found that her teachers were all eager to give her whatever time she needed. Their support, as well as that of her college coaches and teammates, helped her return home with three medals — her first at a major international competition. The 18-year-old from Lake Villa, Illinois, won gold in the 400-meter freestyle S9, silver in the 200-meter individual medley SM9 and bronze in the 100-meter backstroke S9.

Knott was born with a congenital condition and has a shorter right femur and tibia, no fibula or right hip joint and a fused right ankle. It affects how she kicks in the water and impacts other elements of her swimming, including getting into a good flip turn position and pushing off the wall. She’s been competing in swimming since she was 7, and as a Para swimmer since she was 9.

Her Parapan American Games debut came in 2019 in Lima, Peru, but because of an issue with classification she was only able to swim exhibition and could not compete for medals that year. Two years later, at 16, she became the youngest member of the U.S. Paralympic swim team I Tokyo.

Going into Santiago in November, she was curious to see how her training at altitude with her college team would impact her performance.

“Swimming at altitude, all your times are different than swimming at sea level, so it was really cool to see how that translated,” she said. “And it definitely translated extremely well.”

From Youngest In Tokyo To Veteran In Santiago, Para Swimmer Keegan Knott Continues Her Rise

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