Will swim at U.S. national Paralympic meet in Orlando this weekend
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Kissimmee’s Momo Sutton, who has overcome being born without a right hand, will compete among the nation’s best Paralympic swimmers this weekend in Orlando. SUBMITTED PHOTO -
Kissimmee’s Momo Sutton is pictured swimming at a recent event in Gainesville. SUBMITTED PHOTO
Kissimmee swimmer Momo Sutton will be competing on an international stage this weekend—but is lucky enough to sleep in her own bed doing it.
Sutton, 16, will be swimming the 100 meter freestyle at the U.S. Paralympics National Championships in Orlando at the Rosen Aquatic Center starting Friday.
She earned the chance to compete in nationals thanks to posting a qualifying time at the Ken Demchuk Invitational in Surrey, British Columbia in Canada last weekend. The finish enabled her to be able to compete internationally, like in this weekend’s event.
“I’m pretty excited about it, this is one of the biggest events among all Paralympic sports, not just swimming,” she said. “It’s not the be-all-end-all, but I’m hoping to do well.”
While she swam a number of events—the 400 free, 200 individual medley and 100-meter races in all the other strokes, her 1:12.88 time in the 100 free, a personal best, got her on the U.S. Emerging Paralympic swim team. She’d need to get down to a 1:09 in that event to advanced to the National ‘A’ team, but as a high school junior who swims year round, locally with the Kissimmee Swim Association, she said it’s within reach.
Sutton was born in China—where she got her given name Momo— where her mother, Sandy Andriaccio, adopted her from an orphanage she worked with while overseas. Due to amniotic band syndrome, where fibers inside the womb tangle around a part of a fetus’ body, cutting off blood flow— Momo was born without a right hand.
She’s made the competitive best of the situation. She said she’s tried other sports—soccer, and golf, wakeboarding and softball— but found swimming to be the competitive outlet for someone with such a condition.
“Swimming is one of the biggest para events, across all sports,” she said.
And the junior at Osceola School for the Arts competes for Gateway High School—at a high level. She’s won gold or silver medals at the Orange Belt Conference swim meet in the 100 butterfly and backstroke, and was part of a runner-up team on the 400 freestyle relay. This season she qualified for the Class 3A regional meet in the butterfly and backstroke.
But, to prove her competitive fire and a willingness to try new things, in summer 2022 Sutton competed against other elite young para athletes from around North America on the Canadian reality show “All Round Champion.” Nine of them competed in each other’s events—wheelchair track and basketball, boxing, sled hockey, sailing, climbing. A prosthetic arm she uses when she needs it helped her in some of those events, like it does for her other pursuits, like playing the violin.
“It’s not like a leg where I need it all the time,” Momo said. “Competing makes it possible to meet all these wonderful people, and make such amazing connections.”
Gateway swim coach Vonnie Kochensparger said Momo is an amazing athlete to work with.
“She’s dedicated and determined at all times, but it’s her positive attitude that is infectious to others on the team,” the coach said. “It’s both an honor and a privilege to be Momo’s high school coach.”
Sutton’s next world event is the Para Swimming World Series April 11-13 in Indianapolis.
“That one’s one of the big ones,” she said. “That’s where I’m hoping to really compete well.”
