Pair of 17-year-old Paralympians exceed, win gold in their respective events for Group UNITED STATES.

 Teen Olympians like swimmer Lydia Jacoby as well as skateboarder Momiji Niishiya took Tokyo by storm last month during their summer season breaks from school.

Now, teen Paralympians are doing the same.

Two 17-year-olds from the U.S., Anastasia Pagonis and Gia Pergolini, won gold and broke globe documents in their particular swimming occasions Thursday. Pagonis' first-place finish in the women's S11 400-meter freestyle earned the USA its very first gold medal of the Tokyo Paralympics.

" I'm so excited we have the ability to be below and we're both world-record owners," Pagonis informed the Olympic Details Solution.

With her win, Pagonis damaged the globe document she 'd previously embeded in the occasion at the UNITED STATE Paralympic Swimming Trials. She finished with a time of 4:54.49 and also was 10 seconds in advance of silver-medalist Liesette Bruinsma.

The S11 collection is for professional athletes with low visual skill or no perception of light. Athletes put on blackened safety glasses to even the having fun field.

Pagonis posted a TikTok after her win with the caption, "My back injuring from bring my gold medal" where she danced and displayed her brand-new hardware. The teenager has 2 million fans on the video-sharing system, where she shares videos enlightening her fans regarding aesthetic disability. She began losing her vision at age 12 because of a genetic illness.

Pergolini established the globe record for the S13 100-meter backstroke twice in the exact same day, very first breaking the record in case preliminary before ruining it once more in the last. In the prelim, she swam a 1:05.05 and in the last she lowered her time to 1:04.64.

The S13 course is for athletes that are aesthetically damaged, yet much less so than those in the S12 and also S11 classifications.

Pagonis and also Pergolini, roommates in Tokyo, are both making their Paralympic launchings. Pagonis will swim in 3 more events (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 200m private assortment), and also Pergolini will complete in the 50-meter freestyle.

First though, they're celebrating their historic performances with Coke Zeroes and also "two gelato, not one."

"I'm really happy, I would not intend to share this experience with anybody however her. I enjoy her like a sibling and also she's fantastic," Pergolini said of Pagonis.