The 2002 Disability Championships in swimming, a collaboration between the U.S. Paralympic Committee and USA Swimming, was held at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way in June 2002. Over 130 swimmers from around the world met a qualifying time to swim in the meet, and no prostheses or flotation devices were allowed. Swimmers were classified into categories based on individual abilities and constraints.
Fourteen-year-old Justin Fleming from Redmond was one of a small number of local swimmers to qualify for the meet. He swam in six events at the meet, with the 400-meter freestyle being his favorite. Here, Justin Fleming, right, talks with classifier Stan Morris about his physical conditioning after a practice swim at the King County Aquatic Center. Justin later swam at the 2004 Paralympics Games in Athens, and as of 2024, he coaches at Shadow Seals in Renton, the first independent swim club for athletes with physical disabilities in the U.S., founded in 1994.
Caption information source: "Disabilities no match for sheer will - swimmers worldwide gather here for championship meet" by Kristin Dizon, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 13, 2002, p. A1 Caption information source: "Shadow Seals: Seattle's swim team for athletes with physical disabilities" by Helen Smith and Rachel Kim, May 27, 2024. Retrieved at King 5 website at https://www.king5.com/article/news/community/facing-race/shadow-seals-swim-team-athletes-physical-disabilities/281-dc581bd1-05c1-4116-aa2d-4d1bfbdf30ab
