However, her accomplishment was overshadowed by what she described as bullying.
Christie won the first heat in womens 50m freestyle S9 with a time of 27.28 seconds.
However, she has been working toward the Olympic Games since she was a teen.
Growing up in New Jersey,USA, the athlete spent much of her time in the water.
TheOlympic Gamesin Beijing were in her sight, but a drunk driver derailed that dream for her in 2007.
She went on to get married and have children while continuing to train for the Olympics.
And in June 2024, Christie was named in Team USAs roster to compete at the 2024 Summer Paralympics.
In a post-race interview Raleigh Crossley said she hasnt been able to enjoy the games.
Shes had to focus on protecting herself.
S9 is a disability swimming classification in the Paralympics that categorizes swimmers based on their level of disability.
If I treat it right I can crush it.
How absolutely disappointing to see this in this sport.
We all know classification isnt perfect.
We deal with trying to justify ourselves all day every day to the rest of the world.
To have it come from other people in your sport?
Confirming the effects of her tumor, she added: And then they removed it.
And so now Ive just got a nice hole.
Some disabilities are easy to quantify amputated limbs and short stature.
But athletes with neurological impairments, like Christie, are harder to classify,The Timesreported.
Their disabilities require subjective judgments, and they can change over time sometimes, from day to day.
The better Christie swims, the more suspicion and accusations reportedly come her way.
Im also very good atmasking things.
Like, for instance, I havent been able to move my hand for the past 20 minutes.
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