Tessa Nagy has been making history from Santa Monica to the world stage, proving that anyone can achieve success with the right attitude.
At last month’s U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships, Nagy took to the pool in Orlando, winning two silver medals in the 200 meter Fly and 4x100 Mixed Freestyle Relay, as well as a bronze medal in the 200 meter Freestyle.
Nagy, who was born with severe autism and severe intellectual disability, competed at nationals against the entire Paralympic field, not just those with comparable intellectual disability. Despite the challenge, the 24-year-old persisted, and will be taking her talents to Indianapolis in April for the Para Swimming World Series.
Her competitive swimming success has put her in rarified air, including this past year’s feat of a new American record for an intellectually disabled swimmer in the 1,500 meter freestyle. Also this past year, Nagy became one of only six female swimmers with intellectual disability to compete in the US Paralympics trials.
Sitting with her father Daniel and stepmother Claire, Nagy expressed how much fun it was to compete and make friends, remarking that she loves medals and loves to go fast. That speed and skill in the pool was apparent from an early age, Daniel said, as she was taught swimming for her own safety at the age of 4.
“She just always wanted to be in the pool all the time, and she would swim around … she never needed rescuing,” Daniel said.
A Santa Monica lifer, Nagy took special day classes at the Lincoln Middle School pool with intellectually disabled peers, where her fellow students would watch in awe as she went back and forth completing laps. As she moved up to Samohi, her barrier-breaking became more apparent, becoming the only intellectually disabled autistic swimmer in Samohi history to earn a spot on the girls swim team.
Swimming for the Lady Vikings from 2015 to 2018, Nagy eventually made varsity her senior year despite zero accommodations. Having to earn the spot like everyone else, she did so, with her stepmother saying she was the “first one in, last one out” and “the heart of the team.”
“They weren’t sure how they would be able to work with (Tessa), but she ended up, just as Coach (Matt) Flanders would describe her, (as) a machine,” Claire added. “She never got tired, she always did what he said.”
Near the end of her Samohi career, Nagy made the cut for the U.S. National Paralympic Team, swimming a 400 meter freestyle just 0.1 seconds below the National Team entry time. Her qualifying race just so happened to be at the Mecca of swimming, the Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Since making the team, she earned gold at the 2022 U.S. Paralympic National Championships and has competed internationally in places like Mexico, Australia and France. Along with Indianapolis, she will be making a stop in Bangkok, Thailand in 2025 to continue punching her passport.
Helping her competitive journey in every step has been local outfit TSM Aquatics, who took on Nagy in 2019.
“Tessa has fun competing and swimming fast,” TSM Coach Ellis Miller said. “As an athlete with multiple severe intellectual disabilities, she has gone further in her sport than perhaps any other similar U.S. swimmer … we are immensely proud of her.”
Miller added that Nagy still needs more supporters “who see her potential” in order to pave the way for her progress. Daniel said her daughter’s journey, while exciting, has been a “very daunting experience” because of so many being highly doubtful that Tessa could achieve what she has.
Claire stated that to continue the movement for intellectually disabled swimmers that Tessa is pioneering, parents cannot be silent about the need for inclusion in all athletics.
“Parents have to share with other parents, not to be bullied, to be advocates for their kids and don’t allow discrimination to happen … it takes a tremendous amount of work, and some families don’t have the time to do that work … it takes parents talking to other parents,” she added.
This year’s schedule is just an appetizer for Nagy’s ultimate goal of competing in the 2028 Paralympic Games, held in her Los Angeles backyard. Her participation would be yet another boundary smashed in a life full of pool exploits.
“I think ultimately with Tessa, if you give her the opportunity, she surprises everybody,” Claire added.
