UPDATE:

Christina Lang's ultimate goal is to compete in the 2020 Paralympic Games.  The rising Dunedin senior has completed the next step on her quest.

Lang, who lost part of her left leg as a child, qualified for her first international competition, the Paralympic International Can/Am Games. 

She will participate in swimming and discuss.

The first installment of the games is held in North Dakota this December.  The second part will take place in March 2016 in Edmonton.

To help fund the expenses for these trips Lang is organizing a BBQ fundraiser on August 31st at the Dunedin Elks Lodge.  For all the details click here.

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(ORIGINAL STORY)

If you look hard, even underwater, Christina Lang is always smiling.

"No matter what disability you have everyone can do it, everyone can swim," said Dunedin junior Christina Lang.  "I guess I was raised to not think of myself as different."

Lang is a member of the able-bodied swim team at Dunedin despite missing the lower half of her left leg.

"I was three years old and I got the chickenpox," said Lang.

"One of the chickenpox opened up and created a blood infection.  The blood infection turned into a blood clot and the blood clot got stuck in my left leg. I was supposed to be an above the knee amputee but my mom thought my life would be a lot more challenging if I didn't have my knee which it would be. So, they amputated it as high as they could so I would still have my knee."

Christina has never wanted any special treatment especially on the pool deck.

"I sometimes catch myself not wanting to be adaptive," said Lang.

“She has the option to start in water," said Dunedin swimming coach Michael Awe. "She has the option to start at the pool edge or she has the option to get up on the blocks. I think that she wants to make sure she joins the crowd. She doesn't stand out for negative reasons and she's been perfectly able to get up on the blocks and start."

She's also able to compete. Christina qualified for districts this fall for the very first time. She will swim the 200 freestyle.

"I was actually really shocked to hear that I got that I actually qualified for districts," said Lang. "I don't consider myself fast with the able-bodies. So knowing that I qualified it made me feel like I join the right sport and I joined the right team to help push me towards the next level."

"This year she kind of broke free," said Awe. "I think a little bit that also might have been with her joining the Paralympic team and actually doing something above and beyond."

This past summer Lang joined Paralympic Sport Tampa Bay. She cleaned up at the National Junior Disability Championships at Iowa State University. Lang won 10 gold medals in swimming and track.

"I was shocked of how well I did because that was my first major meet," said Lang. "I was smiling so much I called my mom and she was screaming over the phone I took a whole bunch of pictures."

"It's an amazing example," said Christina’s older sister, Catherine Lang. "I mean I really feel like she's the definition of ‘you never really know until you try’. So, just throw yourself into whatever it is you want to try and do it because you'll never know the outcome. She didn't know she would ever be this good when she started swimming."

"Somebody that wants to be a Paralympian, I say just go for it," said Lang. "You never know where it might lead you or where it might take you. I may have to try harder. I may have to work harder and longer, but I'm not the only one."