A blind swimmer currently trains for the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics with the help of a freshly trained Labrador retriever guide dog.
Anastasia Pagonis lost her sight two years ago. She was a great soccer player, but when she turned 11, her genetic disease acted up and she gradually lost her vision.
She decided to find a more ideal sport for her condition, and she changed to swimming. Despite her poor vision, Pagonis still excelled in her new sport. Unfortunately, after some time, Anastasia completely lost her sight.
Anastasia was miserable and overwhelmed, especially after finding that aside from her genetic disease, she also had autoimmune retinopathy. She eventually had to stop swimming due to depression and anxiety. However, with the help of her family, she was able to focus on her treatment and restore her confidence and desire to swim again.
The only issue is that they were unable to find a coach who’s willing to train her. Nobody believed in her until Islander Aquatics’ Coach Marc Danin showed up. Swimming makes her happy, and returning to it reminded her of her love for the sport.
Her hard work helped her to win two gold medals in the World Para Swimming World Series in Australia in 2020. Anastasia had no idea that things were about to get a whole lot better for her when she got a call from the Guide Dog Foundation about their freshly trained dog, Radar, who is very ready to be her guide dog. Due to the epidemic, they had to temporarily train at home.
The two then moved to Colorado, where she is currently a resident athlete at the US Olympic & Paralympic Training Center. She’s preparing for the Paralympics, which will take place in Tokyo next year. Radar quickly learned the routes that helped her navigate around the campus.
This just proves that nothing can stop someone who has a dream, and nothing is impossible if you have faith.
You can watch the full video here.