TOI would like to congratulate 14-year-old Jaide Childs, daughter of TOI employee Jolie Herren, for her outstanding performance at the U.S. Paralympic Swimming Trials in Bismarck, N.D.earlier in June. She cleared the women’s S5 50-meter butterfly American record twice with a 53.63 and 51.59 in prelims and finals. In setting the new record, Jaide has qualified to compete in the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games in London. In support of Jaide, TOI will hold a jeans day this Friday, June 29th.
Jaide was born with Arthrogryposis, a rare congenital disorder characterized by multiple joint contractures and possible muscle weakness and fibrosis. She was born without biceps or triceps and has limited arm and spine movement in addition to limited flexibility in her legs.
On September 3rd, Jaide will begin her first race in the London Games, and will continue competing until September 7th, where she will compete in the 50-meter butterfly, the event in which she currently holds the American record and ranks 6th in the world!
Jaide began swimming only 3 years ago, with coach Jennifer Davidson, owner of High Tide Aquatics inGainesville. Within her first year of swimming, she broke four national records in her Paralympic category - the 50-meter butterfly, 50-meter back stroke, 100-meter butterfly and the 200-meter freestyle.
In December 2010, Jaide competed in the Winter Can-Am Swimming Championships inToronto, and broke the 100-meter butterfly – her fifth American record to date. While inToronto, Jaide was also internationally classified in the S5 category. In the Paralympics, swimmers are classified into specific categories based on the degree of their disability. This allows swimmers to compete against others who have a similar ability level.