Paralympics veteran at age 20: Aspden advises, 'Soak it all in'

By Dryden Quigley, WRALSportsFan contributor

Raleigh, N.C. — Hannah Aspden has always felt at home in the water. From an early age she loved copying her brother, so when he started swimming, that’s exactly what she wanted to do. Now, that passion for swimming is taking the Raleigh native to the Tokyo Paralympics.

When Aspden was younger, she tried soccer, but knew it wasn’t the right fit.

“I really found my home in the water, and found it to be more of an even playing field. It was somewhere that my disability really didn't impact me as much and didn't define me,” she said. “I found that I was able to keep up with the other kids and really just found my passion for swimming that way.”

Aspden was born with one leg and congenital hip disarticulation, but that has not slowed her down. She was already swimming at 4 years old, and by 8 she was competing year round.

Her impressive swimming career includes winning bronze twice in the 2016 Rio Paralympics. She also earned silver in the 4x100 medley relay while representing Team USA in the 2018 Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championship and won two gold and two silver medals in the World Championships in 2015 and 2017.

Now, as her chance to swim in Tokyo approaches, she has her sights set on gold for the red, white and blue.

But this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, no spectators will be allowed, meaning Aspden's friends and family will not be able to attend. She is disappointed no family can travel with her as her mom has had the greatest impact on her swimming career.

“She's always there for me through the ups and downs," she said. "And so I definitely would say that she's someone that I could not have done any of this without.”

In March 2020, when COVID-19 changed everyone's plans and forced pools to shut down, Aspden and her mom did some unconventional training.

“I was out of the water for a while. And then we found that we had some family friends that had a backyard pool, just like a little swimming pool in their backyard. And so I ended up kind of swimming just back and forth in that for a couple of months,” she said. “My little sister actually came with me and coached me.”

When the games were rescheduled to this summer, she knew she had to get back into a more regular training routine. She now swims for the Triangle Aquatic Center Titans for coach John Payne.

As a Team USA veteran, she’s now embracing the role of mentor for the first-time swimmers.

“It might sound cliche, but really just to soak it all in,” she said.

Aspden knows the importance of having veteran swimmers on the team. She was only 16 when she competed in Rio, making her the youngest person on Team USA to medal in either the Olympics or Paralympics. This year, she will have the chance to medal again in at least four separate swim events – the 100m backstroke, 100m freestyle, 100m breaststroke, 200m individual medley.

Aspden has no plans of slowing down and plans on qualifying for the Paralympics again in 2024 and 2028.

“Part of what we're really trying to do is just show the world what athletes with disabilities and people with disabilities can do,” she said. “That's always an honor and a great opportunity to hopefully be out there and show people what we can do with what we have.”