Jessica Galli is no stranger to dealing with change. The 29-year old track and field Paralympian has made a name—and now a career—for herself by thriving in the face of adversity.
At the age of 7, the Hillsborough, New Jersey native was left a paraplegic after her spine was fractured in a September 1991 car accident. Undeterred, she began to dabble in para road racing, swimming, and basketball before setting her focus on track and field.
Racing in the T53 classification for athletes with limited abdominal function, Jessica has competed in four Paralympic Games, winning seven medals, including gold in the 400 meters at Beijing in 2008. She is also the current World Record holder in three distances.
Having been competing at the international level for over a decade, Jessica has witnessed firsthand the rapid progression of the Paralympics from being just the “sister games to the Olympics” into the second largest sporting event in the world (after the Olympics).
“Sydney [in 2000] was an awesome experience because it was my first games, everything was new, and everything was exciting. The crowd and the people really supported the Games, and they really were fans of sport in general,” said Jessica. “But then to go to Athens [in 2004]- they didn’t do a bad job by any means- but it was sort of back to reality with the Paralympics, in that the crowds weren’t as big and it wasn’t as popular.”
“Fast forward to London, they had amazing coverage on television and they filled every venue with paying fans. My family members actually had trouble getting tickets and we’ve never had that experience before, so that was really cool.”
And now she is dealing with a different kind of change; one in her professional life.
In 2013, Jessica joined the United States Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Advisory Council (AAC) as a vice chairman and the only Paralympian on the board’s Leadership group. There she serves as a representative to the USOC regarding athlete issues.
While she represents both groups of athletes equally, an immediate goal is to further increase the role of Paralympians.
“I think it’s really important that Paralympic athletes have a voice, just like their Olympic counterparts do,” said Jessica. “Over the past four years we were able to increase the Paralympic representation [on the ACC] from two reps and two alternates to six summer representatives and two winter, so that was huge. It’s important that we identify at least one athlete within each of our sports who gets passionate about the movement, gets passionate about our sport, and is willing to speak up about issues in them.”
Serving as an ambassador for athletes also requires an in-depth understanding of the anti-doping realm of sports, a practice she has become familiar with in her years of competing.
“My closest experience with WADA was in 2008 [at Beijing] when I was drug tested after every event that I ran- I did 5 or 6 races and was drug tested after at least 5 of them. I got to know them very well and got to know the process very well. I can honestly say that I’ve never had a bad experience with USADA or WADA. I’ve always worked with really good people and had positive experiences.”
Since her role with the AAC is not full-time, it allows her to dedicate her free time to training and several other volunteer activities. But that’s not to say the R-word hasn’t crossed her mind once or twice.
“[Retirement] sounds like a really good idea when I am sitting at home and doing other things, but then I get in my racing chair and I go for a push and I still love it,” Galli said. “My fiancé (wheelchair basketball player Gavin Cloy) is going to be trying out for the team and there is a chance he could make it- if he did that it would make it difficult to retire because I would feel that if he’s going [to the Games] I have to at least try.”
Regardless of her decision, Jessica is always mindful about the importance of competing clean in sport, and in life.
“I’m so much more than who I am out there on the track every day, so I don’t do any harm to my body or self with substances. I can attest that it takes hard work and dedication to achieve success, but I think that that’s what makes that so much sweeter. For me it’s just putting in the miles every day, and hoping at the end of the road that you put enough in so you can come out on top.”
Whether it ultimately is retiring, competing in an even more-popular Paralympic Games, or another unforeseen challenge, there’s no doubt Jessica will embrace the change the only way she knows how: gracefully and positively.