An Atlanta woman made history at the U.S. Paralympic Games on Friday.
Gia Pergolini , 20, brought Team USA’s first gold medal of the Paralympic Games. She’s the first U.S. woman to win back-to-back Paralympic golds in the 100m backstroke.
Currently, the U.S. has brought home 10 medals, and Pergolini’s is the only gold.
[ LIST: 2024 Paralympians with ties to the Peach State ]
The world record holder competed in her second event in Paris, opening her signature race fast and fought off fatigue over the final 15 meters to finish in a time of 1 minute, 04.93 seconds.
Pergolini graduated from St. Francis High School, a private school just outside of Alpharetta city limits.
She was diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease, which, according to the National Eye Institute, is a rare genetic eye disease that can lead to a slow loss of central vision in both eyes.
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She’s not the only Paralympic medalist with a tie to Georgia.
Susannah Scaroni , who has won the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race for the last three years , brought home a silver medal in the women’s 5000m T54 race. She won gold in the same event in the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo.