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September 26, 2023 - Justin Wm. Moyer
"Lawrence Sapp was a 21-year-old college sophomore yearning for more independence when he ran into a problem: Despite repeated attempts, he couldn’t pass Maryland’s driver’s permit exam."
November 20, 2023 - BURK KROHE
"This school year, he’s brought his talents to the University of Missouri–St. Louis, where he’ll compete on the Tritons men’s swimming team and study in the Succeed Program, a postsecondary program for students with developmental and intellectual disabilities."
By Kristen Gowdy | April 28, 2023, 2:28 p.m. (ET)
"COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO – U.S. Paralympics Swimming today announced the 22 athletes – 16 women and six men – named to the roster for the 2023 World Para Swimming Championships, which are scheduled for August in Manchester, England.
The team was selected based on results at last weekend’s Para Swimming World Series in Minneapolis, at which Team USA athletes brought home 40 medals across the three-day competition."
By Kristen Gowdy | Jan. 24, 2023, 8:46 a.m. (ET)
"COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO – Thirty-nine athletes earned spots on the 2023 U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Team roster, the organization today announced. The list includes 37 swimmers who were on the roster in 2022."
by SADIE JONES
26 February 2022, 07:20am
Lawrence Sapp is a lifelong swimmer who grew up in Waldorf, Maryland with his mother, father, and two siblings. He competed for coach Jeff King at Nation’s Capital Swim Club’s Alexandria location for many years and studies at the University of Cincinnati, where he's a member of the men’s club swim team. This past summer, he competed at the Paralympic Games in Toyko, where he place fifth in the 100 butterfly in the S14 classification. Lawrence also became the first Black male with Autism and an Intellectual Impairment to compete on behalf of the United States in Paralympic swimming.
Lawrence Sapp Debuts S14 Classification For Team USA Men
By Katie Grunik | Aug. 25, 2021, 9:47 a.m. (ET)
Lawrence Sapp opened his first Paralympic Games experience making history for Team USA. He finished fifth in the 100-meter butterfly S14, but it’s not his placement that cemented his name in the history books.
Sapp is the first man to compete at the Paralympics in the S14 classification for Team USA, a classification for athletes with intellectual impairments.
Lawrence Sapp Is Ready to Make Waves at the Tokyo Paralympics
by KELYN SOONGJULY 15TH, 2021
His coach, Jeff King, credits Sapp with making all of the swimmers around him better competitors and people with his mantra of giving his best every day. Sapp’s family and friends see him as a trailblazer and inspiration. Next month, the 19-year-old will head to the Tokyo Paralympics, held from Aug. 24 to Sept. 5, as one of the 34 swimmers representing Team USA.
Swimming helped give Lawrence Sapp a voice. Now the Maryland resident will compete for gold at the Tokyo Paralympics.
Sapp was like a speeding bullet with one goal in mind: to be the fastest. He’s determined to be faster than his swim club teammates, faster than his competition, and faster than he was a day ago. Sapp’s gold medals and American records since 2017 clearly show that speed is the teenager’s specialty.
How UC student Lawrence Sapp cleared the lane to the Tokyo Paralympic Games
Jayna Bardahl Cincinnati Enquirer
Published Aug. 22, 2021
At the same time, despite the virtual setting and empty stands at the Paralympic Trials in Minneapolis, the moment Sapp was named to the United States Paralympic swimming roster was everything the 19-year-old could have imagined.
The University of Cincinnati student said he expected to make the team after breaking three American records at the trials.
UC, Xavier athletes quickly launch NIL deals
By Steve Watkins – Staff Reporter, Cincinnati Business Courier
Jul 8, 2021 Updated Jul 9, 2021, 12:59pm EDT
"The so-called NIL laws took effect July 1 in Ohio, Kentucky, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. They enable athletes to start making money for the first time from advertising, endorsements, autographs, instructional camps and numerous other opportunities. College athletes had previously been prohibited from making money on any marketing opportunities.
One of the higher-profile deals involves UC swimmer Lawrence Sapp. He’s expected to compete in the August 2021 Paralympics in Tokyo. And he’s one of 14 college athletes from around the country that deodorant maker Degree has signed for its #BreakingLimits marketing campaign."
Lawrence Sapp Sets Three American Records in Two Events to Close Paralympic Team Trials
21 June 2021, 12:10pm
Lawrence Sapp Sets Three American Records in Two Events to Close Paralympic Team Trials
Lawrence Sapp didn’t just set an American record in the men’s S14 100-meter butterfly at U.S. Paralympic Team Trials Sunday. He somehow managed to set two.
SWIMMERS CLOSE OUT PARALYMPIC TRIALS WITH RECORD-SETTING PERFORMANCES
By Karen Price | June 20, 2021, 12 a.m. (ET)
MINNEAPOLIS — Lawrence Sapp didn’t hold anything back during or after the men’s S14 100-meter butterfly final on Saturday at the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials for Swimming.
He not only crushed the field, but set a new American record with a time of 56.10 seconds. He pointed at the scoreboard, slapped the water and let out a yell, followed by another.
Sapp’s 50-meter split of 26.15 seconds was also an American record.
TEN MEMORABLE MOMENTS FROM THE PARALYMPICS “SUPER TRIALS” IN MINNEAPOLIS
By Stuart Lieberman, Chrös McDougall, Karen Price | June 20, 2021, 10:01 a.m. (ET)
Super Sapp’s Speedy Swims
Lawrence Sapp was on fire during the men’s S14 100-meter butterfly final on Saturday. After finishing first in the morning preliminaries with a time of 57.11, the Waldorf, Maryland, native was even faster in the final later on that evening. Not only did he set a new American record with a time of 56.10 seconds, but he also set one with his time of 26.15 seconds in the 50-meter split.
SAPP TAKES DOWN TRIO OF AMERICAN RECORDS ON FINAL DAY OF PARALYMPIC TRIALS
June 20th, 2021
Highlighting the final day of racing was Lawrence Sapp, who took down a trio of American records in the S14 class. The 19-year old who swims for Nation’s Capital Aquatic Club started off his day by setting the record in the 100 fly. He easily cruised to the win by a large margin, touching the wall in 56.10 for the gold medal. In the race, he also picked up a second American record, as his split of 26.15 during the first 50 was also under the previous record. Later in the finals session, he picked up another win, and his third American record of the day, in the 200 IM, touching in 2:17.44. After the meet, Sapp said, “My times were really good so I was really happy with that. I did great this weekend, I was proud of myself.”
December 1, 2020
Lawrence Sapp wasn’t born into swimming, but the sport has always been in his blood. From an early age, he’s taken to the pool like a fish to water, and the results have followed.
“It’s a good sport,” Sapp said. “I like it in the water.”
Sapp’s mother, Dee, said that there’s no background of swimming in the family. However, her son quickly felt as at home in the pool as other kids did on the gridiron or pitch.
“Swimming isn’t one of those sports as common as football in this area,” she said of her son’s hometown of Waldorf, Maryland. “He just took off.”
Now 19, Sapp is on the cusp of his first Paralympic Games, looking to continue to build on an international career after taking silver in the 100-meter butterfly at the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships in London.
April 7, 2021
When first-year UC student Lawrence Sapp approaches the check-in desk at the campus recreation center he appears to be just another college student clad in a T-shirt, board shorts and tennis shoes.
“You know he’s a world champion!” a student worker at the desk remarks to her co-worker, referring to Sapp as he swipes his Bearcat card, makes his way through the turnstile and jaunts quickly downstairs to the pool.
Indeed, Sapp, who is expected to compete in the August 2021 Paralympics in Tokyo — having claimed a silver medal at the 2019 World Games in London and a gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke at the 2017 World Para Swimming Championships in Mexico City — is fast becoming a campus celebrity.
May 4, 2021
When Sapp jumps into the pool each day, it’s all about the speed.
“I just need to drop more time," Sapp said. "I’m trying to get a lot faster.”
That’s because Sapp has the opportunity to make the Paralympics this summer.
“I got good times," he said. "But I’m close to getting that spot on the team. But I’m trying to drop more time.”
It hasn’t been all that easy. Sapp has autism, and after the Paralympics were postponed last summer, Lawrence still decided to leave his home in Maryland to pursue an education at UC. Now, he trains five days a week, alone, getting his workouts texted from his coach from back home.
April 26, 2021
CINCINNATI, Ohio — Olympic and Paralympic athletes across the globe faced massive disappointment in 2020, when the pandemic postponed the Tokyo games. And while it may have stalled the dreams of many, it didn’t make them fade away.
“I won silver in London. I won Gold in Mexico City and Berlin, Germany,” said Lawrence Sapp.
Sapp is a world champion swimmer. Like most world class athletes, he's been honing his craft nearly his whole life.
September 20, 2020
Since the age of 12, Dee Sapp knew her son had a talent for swimming. Lawrence Sapp is now 19 and currently attending the University of Cincinnati, where he swims on the men’s club team. He grew up in Waldorf, Maryland with his mother, father, and two siblings. From a young age, he loved being in the water. Fast forward to 2020, and Lawrence can be found on the USA Paralympic Team and the National Team.
“The hardest part of the journey is convincing people to give him a chance,” said Dee Sapp. “He’s got the natural talent, but the technical work, the other social cues, and things like that, are what takes extra special people to want to do a little extra on that side.”
July 24, 2020
At just 18 years old, the Waldorf, Maryland resident has achieved many accomplishments in the sport of competitive swimming. Lawrence Sapp is truly an international star swimmer in the making!
The championship athlete has received many gold and silver medals across the world competing in events such as the 100m Butterfly, 200m Individual Medley and 200m Freestyle. He has also broken many records including five at his high school on the varsity team and won the coach’s award in his first season. At such a young age, he has already received many accolades and it looks like he will be receiving many more in the future.