Christie Raleigh Crossley
American paralympic swimmer (born 1987) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Christie Raleigh Crossley (born June 20, 1987) is an American Paralympic swimmer. They represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Paralympics.
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| Born | June 20, 1987 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home town | Toms River, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Paralympic swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability class | S9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life and education
Raleigh grew up playing several sports, including playing in the boys' leagues for basketball and baseball. In middle school they made the decision to focus on swimming, with dreams of making the Olympic team. At Toms River High School South, they were a state champion and became the second freshman in state history to become the state record-holder in any swimming event.[1] They moved to Florida when they were 15 to attend Pine Crest School, where they were a four-time high school state champion in Florida.[2]
After graduating from Pine Crest, they received a scholarship to swim for Florida State University. They competed there for two years, earning multiple accolades including Athletic Coast Conference (ACC) Freshman of the Year, and two back-to-back National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) All-American honors. An opportunity arose to finish out their NCAA career at Auburn University. Instead, they got married, and three months later was pregnant with their first daughter. They then transferred to Rowan University where they won an NCAA Division III national title in the butterfly.[3][4]
Career
Summarize
Perspective
On March 12, 2023, at the Citi Para Swimming World Series, Raleigh Crossley set a world record in the 50 metre backstroke S9 event with a time of 32.01.[5] They then represented the United States at the 2023 World Para Swimming Championships, where they won a gold medal in the 100 metre backstroke S9 event.[6]
On June 30, 2024, they were named to team USA's roster to compete at the 2024 Summer Paralympics.[7]
Despite facing bullying and defamation from multiple teammates during the Paralympic Games, Raleigh Crossley became the most decorated Team USA athlete in Paris bringing home 5 medals and a World Record in the S9 50 metre Freestyle which was a Silver medal performance in the S10 50 metre Freestyle. The S9 50 metre Freestyle was not an event at the Paris Paralympics. Athletes with a higher level of disability are able to "swim up" to compete against athletes with lesser affected disabilities. Raleigh Crossley also won two Gold's in both the S9 100 metre Butterfly and S9 100 metre Backstroke, as well as another Silver in the S9 100 metre Freestyle and a Bronze as the anchor member of the 34 Point Mixed Medley Relay. All five events were new American Records.[8]
ESPN stated "One of the greatest comeback stories we've ever told" when covering their accolades in the performing at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.[9]
Personal life
In 2007 Raleigh Crossley was hit by a drunk driver while crossing the street and suffered three herniated discs in their neck and one in their lower back. In 2008 they were involved in another accident where they were hit by a car as a pedestrian. The blunt force trauma triggered a non-cancerous tumor to start developing in their brain, and as a result they began to lose function on the left side of their body.[10]
On December 12, 2018, while on a ski trip with their family, Raleigh Crossley's son picked up what he thought was a snowball and struck them in the head. The snowball was actually a block of ice, and they sustained a traumatic brain injury. They experienced paralysis on their left side due to the bleeding of a previously unknown blood tumor in their brain. On January 7, 2019, they had the tumor removed.[3][11]
In February 2025, Raleigh Crossley announced on their Instagram page that multiple cancerous masses had been found in their body and would be undergoing cancer treatments.[12]
Raleigh Crossley has three children and is a survivor of domestic violence.[13][14] They are non-binary, using "she/her" and "they/them" pronouns.[3]
References
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