HERZOG Sophia

Classification
S6, SB6, SM6 (IPC, 11 Feb 2021)

Type of Impairment
Short stature (Athlete, 07 Jan 2016)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (Athlete, 07 Jan 2016)

Impairment Details
She is a person of short stature. (Team USA YouTube channel, 17 Nov 2017)

General
RETIREMENT PLAN
In early 2020 she moved to Salida, CO, United States of America, to settle in preparation for retirement after the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. "I will be 24 in Tokyo. My body has been doing this for the past 12 years and it is time to give the body a break. I've been so hyper focused on sports the past 12 years that I haven't developed other passions outside of swimming. I haven't been able to explore other options and I'm ready to start that next chapter of my life." (moveunitedsport.org, 02 Feb 2021; themountainmail.com, 03 Feb 2020; teamusa.org, 11 Dec 2018)

COVID-19 IMPACT
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 she swam in the Arkansas River in Colorado, United States of America, while pools were closed. "I'm an elite swimmer and this is out of my comfort zone by a long shot. I'll sit here for 20 minutes waiting for the dogs and kayakers and everybody to clear out. I'm kind of the low-man on the totem pole when it comes to claiming river space. A huge part of swimming is having a feel for the water and you can lose that in a day. Remember learning to ride a bike? Then, at some point, it's not awkward and it's just intuitive. That's kind of like the feel for water. It's definitely hard to stay motivated. This is all on me, you know. My coach is not sitting out at the pool waiting for me. I'm the one who needs to get on my bike or come down here to swim. My boyfriend has really been motivating me reminding me that this is the time when champions are made, which I totally believe." (coloradosun.com, 22 May 2020)

EARLY DAYS
She initially hoped to pursue alpine skiing, but she needed knee surgery before graduating high school and decided to switch to swimming. "The transition was really easy. I grew up in an athletic family, so I was doing sports of all sorts. I learned how to swim when I was really young, so then I just started training." (heartoftherockiesradio.com, 10 Feb 2020; themountainmail.com, 03 Feb 2020)