Tatyana McFadden was born with spina bifida in St. Petersburg, Russia and spent the first six years of her life in an orphanage. She was not expected to live. After being adopted by an American family and receiving her first wheelchair and medical attention, she began to thrive. McFadden’s family introduced her to swimming, and from there she became hooked on sports. Currently a well known sprinter -- and never before having participated in marathons -- McFadden entered the Chicago Marathon in 2009 and took first place in the wheelchair division.
At age 15, McFadden was the youngest member of the USA’s Paralympic Track and Field Team in the Athens 2004 Paralympics, and she shocked the world by winning silver and bronze medals in the 100m and 200m. During the 2006 IPC Athletics World Championships in the Netherlands, McFadden set a world record by winning gold in the 100m, and she took home silver medals in the 200m and 400m.
McFadden continued her motivation to excel in swimming, wheelchair basketball, scuba diving, downhill skiing, ice hockey and track and field. After graduating from high school on the honor roll, she represented the United States, in track, at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, winning three silvers and a bronze.
Concerned that young people with disabilities did not have full access to high school sports, McFadden was the plaintiff in a federal lawsuit which now mandates public high schools to provide access to sports for disabled students. Her action resulted in landmark legislation in Maryland -- the first law in the United States allowing and encouraging students with disabilities to participate in high school sports; now a model for other states.
As a 20-year old sophomore, McFadden attends the University of Illinois where she studies nutrition and plays on its top ranked wheelchair basketball and track teams.
McFadden also holds USA records in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m, and is ranked second in the world as a sprinter.
