Who is the swimmer in the Toyota commercial that has been playing repeatedly during television and online coverage of the Tokyo Olympics? That’s a question people were asking Google Wednesday.
The ad, which actually debuted during the Super Bowl, showcases 13-time gold medal Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long’s journey from an orphan in Siberia to a Paralympian.
Long was adopted at 13 months old. The commercial recreates the conversation her mother, played by an actor, had with the adoption agency as she learned about the challenges she would face with amputation.
“I think what makes this so emotional for me is that there really were so many hard moments that people didn’t see,” Long said after the ad aired in February. “There were moments of going back and forth into surgery. I can remember crawling onto the operating table and just knowing what to do, as a three-year-old, and holding my parents’ hand as they gave me the anesthesia and knowing that I would be back in the operating room in a couple of months.”
Long was born with a rare condition that required her to have her legs amputated below the knees.
“I didn’t sign up to be an amputee, it was the life that I was given. And I have always decided to make the best of it but there were a lot of really tough moments,” Long said.
Olympics fans have been seeing the short version of the commercial. A longer, 60-second ad appeared during the big game in February.
“I think that’s one thing about this beautiful spot that Toyota created is just, it really does highlight so many moments of my life that I never thought would be showcased,” Long said.
Despite her young age, Long is one of the world’s most decorated swimmers with 23 Paralympic medals in total, according to Paralympic.org.