Charles County's Sapp seeks Paralympic gold

Charles County resident Lawrence Sapp has rapidly become accustomed to competing at the highest levels of various swim meets and this weekend he will continue his pursuit of a gold medal in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, France.

Sapp, who had previously competed in the 2020 Tokyo Games (which were contested in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic), will participate in the men’s 100-meter butterfly, which has rapidly become his specialty event. Last year at the World Championships, Sapp finished seventh in the 100-fly, four years after he had taken silver in that event.

“Lawrence Sapp competes with class and dignity is what I hope people will say,” Sapp said of his swim prowess. “I am always pushing myself to the max and wearing my emotions on my sleeve. I like the fly. That’s my best event. I like the breaststroke, too. I try to improve on all my strokes every day.”

Sapp, who began swimming at age 5 and competed for 10 seasons each summer with the Smallwood Village squad in the Prince-Mont Swim League, has been diagnosed with autism and is the first member of the USA Paralympic Swim team to earn a spot with an intellectual impairment. After four seasons at North Point High School, Sapp currently competes for the University of St. Louis-Missouri at the Division II level.

“When he first came to me, you could see Lawrence had raw talent,” said former North Point and Smallwood Village swim coach Jeff Rivenburg. “Not only did he learn quickly, but he dedicated himself to practicing and studying film. I coached him for several years with the Potomac Raiders swim club and you could see that he definitely the potential.”

The U.S. Paralympics Swim Team is divided into three classifications, with the upper tier competing on the National A Team. In previous Paralympic games and world championships, Sapp had been designated on the B team, but this year he earned his first chance to compete for the A squad.

His talent and work ethic had always impressed Rivenburg as well as his college coaches at Missouri-St. Louis.

The 2024 Paralympic Games opening ceremony was on Aug. 28 and competitions continue through Sept. 8, featuring as many as 4,400 athletes from around the world. They will compete in 22 sports at various venues around France.