Faces In The Crowd: Anastasia Pagonis

In 2015, Anastasia Pagonis’s central vision declined due to autoimmune retinopathy and two genetic diseases disorders. The swimmer won a silver in the 400-meter freestyle and a bronze in the 100 fly at the Para World Series in May 2018. Six months later Anastasia, then 14, lost her eyesight completely.
“I gave up on myself-I gave up on my dreams,” Anastasia says now. “I just thought that if I was going to be blind, then there was no point even living anymore.”
Anastasia stopped swimming. She was unable to sleep or really eat. She drank just one smoothie a day, which was all she could consume without feeling nauseated. For most of the nine months after she lost her sight, Anastasia was suicidal. She met with therapists and doctors and says she realized “getting out of a funk” had to come from within.
In the spring of 2019, Anastasia began to train again. Last February she won golds in the 200-meter IM (2:54.23) and the 400 free (5:18.12) at the 2020 World Para World Series. She was invited to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, which she attended with her guide dog, Radar, over the summer in preparation for next year’s Paralympic trials.
With renewed confidence and a new perspective on her condition, Anastasia has used social media to advocate for the blind community and embrace positivity. “I want to help people,” she says. “I get DMs from teenagers all the time saying they’re being bullied for their weight or for their disability, and I just feel for them so much.”
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[@Kyle-fh8fe]

She's got an incredible story, and that coach is NEXT LEVEL awesome!

[@sergeantmasson3669]

Marc and Radar changed this beautiful, and awesome, young lady's life forever. Now she'll be in Tokyo Para Olympics. I'm ultra happy for her. Her parents must be beyond the moon proud.

[@sergeantmasson3669]

I can't begin to imagine how proud her parents must be. Her dad took it upon himself to get her motivated again.

[@dynasty0019]

Now she's a gold medalist.

[@carlycochran3860]

You go girl ! I really like it when you said just because I am blind does not mean I don’t care what I look like. I totally understand what you mean by that. Because I’m also blind in, and I care what I look like with make up and fashion.

[@michaeldobson107]

And now she is a Paralympics Gold medalist with a World Record time (she broke TWICE.)

[@truth2175]

You're an absolute SUPERSTAR and inspiration to so many! Keep being awesome and amazing!!

[@playerbaba]

Truly amazing!

[@samrobinson3949]

You're an absolute badass!

[@billyg9487]

!🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼

[@vickiem.6096]

🥰🙏

[@mikewrasman5103]

That other team lost out big time!

[@marlon8597]

So...is she completely blind? Or semi blind...

[@thersten]

She can only see brightness. Nothing else.