Long Islander to Compete in 2016 Rio Paralympic Games

One recent Massapequa High School graduate will be heading to Rio to compete as an official member of 2016 USA Paralympic team.

Brianna Salinaro, 18, will be competing in taekwondo as the first and only female para-taekwondo athlete during the games this September.

The opening ceremonies will take place on September 7.

Salinaro, who was born two and a half months premature, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 18 months old, according to her bio.

After she was diagnosed, she underwent surgery but had to wear leg braces until age 3. She then began physical therapy and eventually went on to wear braces only at night.

Despite the surgery, the cerebral palsy still affected the way she walked in addition to her speech and upper body. Salinaro continues to participate in physical therapy today.

"Growing up I was always super self conscious about my disability but I never let it stop me from participating in sports and activities," she wrote in her bio.

At age 9, she started participating in Taekwondo in order to help increase her balance, confidence, and overall quality of life.

Salinaro quit many times throughout her Taekwondo career, but her passion for martial arts remained. At age 14, she started competing alongside her teammates and earned her first degree black belt in April of 2013, according to her bio.

"Once I became more serious about Taekwondo I began dreaming of being part of the USA National Team, but I knew it wasn't possible because of my disability," she wrote.

She recently participated in U.S. and Canada Open, receiving two gold medals for sparring and for being number one in the world in her division.

When Salinaro learned about the Paralympics, she competed and recently earned her spot on the team.

Her ultimate goal is to compete at the first ever Taekwondo Paralympics in 2020.

You can read more about her story here.

Photo: Facebook.com