Name: Tatyana McFadden

Sport: Track and Field

Event(s): 100-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter, 1,500-meter, 5,000-meter, 4x400-meter relay, Marathon

Classification: Nordic Skiing - LW10-12, Sitting; Track & Field - T54

Height: 5-3

DOB: 4/21/1989

Birthplace: St. Petersburg, Russia

Hometown: Baltimore, Md.

High School: Atholton HS (Columbia, Md.) ‘08

College: University of Illinois ‘13, Human Development and Family Studies

Team/Club: University of Illinois

Coach(es): Eileen Carey (Nordic skiing), Adam Bleakney (Track & Field)

Paralympic Experience

• Six-time Paralympian (2004, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2020); 20-time Paralympic medalist (8 golds, 8 silvers, 4 bronzes)
• Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, gold (4x100-meter universal relay), silver (800-meter), bronze (5,000-meter), 4th (400-meter), 5th (1,500-meter, marathon)
• Paralympic Games Rio 2016, gold (400-meter, 800-meter, 1,500-meter, 5,000-meter), silver (100-meter, marathon)
• Paralympic Games Sochi 2014, silver (1-kilometer sprint), 5th (12km sprint), 6th (4x2.5 km mixed with Jake Adicoff), 7th (5km sprint)
• Paralympic Games London 2012, gold (400-meter, 800-meter, 1,500-meter), bronze (100-meter), 9th (marathon)
• Paralympic Games Beijing 2008, silver (200-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter), bronze (4x100-meter relay), 6th (100-meter)
• Paralympic Games Athens 2004, silver (100-meter), bronze (200-meter), 5th (400-meter), 9th (800-meter)

World Championship Experience

• Most recent: 2017 – gold (200-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter, 1,500-meter)
• Years of participation: Track and Field – 2006, 2011, 2013, 2017; Marathon – 2015; Nordic – 2015
• Medals: 20 (16 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze)
• Gold – 2017 (200-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter, 1,500-meter); 2015 (marathon); 2013 (100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter, 1,500-meter, 5,000-meter); 2011 (200-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter, 1,500-meter); 2006 (100-meter)
• Silver – 2011 (4x400-meter relay); 2006 (200-meter, 400-meter)
• Bronze – 2011 (100-meter)

Personal: McFadden lived in an orphanage in St. Petersburg, Russia until age six when she was adopted by Deborah McFadden who had visited the orphanage as part of her work as a Commissioner of Disabilities for the U.S. Department of Health...Born with spina bifida that left her paralyzed below the waist, she walked on her hands and did not use a wheelchair until moving to the United States...Dealing with the transition to a new home in Clarksville, Maryland, McFadden became very active in sports to build her strength and health, playing wheelchair basketball, sled hockey, swimming, gymnastics and track & field...She quickly fell in love with the speed of track & field and later qualified at age 15 as the youngest athlete on the U.S. Paralympic Track & Field Team for the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games where she won a silver and bronze medal...McFadden continued her athletic success as part of the illustrious wheelchair athletics program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign...In 2014, she became a two-sport Paralympian when she competed in Nordic skiing at the Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia where she earned a silver medal in the 1-kilometer sprint...Daughter of Deborah McFadden and Bridget O'Shaughnessey...Has two younger sisters, Hannah and Ruthi...Hobbies include traveling, going to the beach, listening to music, making smoothies, playing different sports, going to the movies...Enjoys water activities like scuba diving, jet skiing and parasailing...Co-authored a children’s book “Ya Sama! Moments from my Life” in May 2016 as a part of a series that will include another autobiography and an activity book...Nicknamed “The Beast” by her coach because she climbs hills better than anyone else...Pulled a BMW car while seated in her wheelchair...McFadden’s sister Hannah also competed at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, marking the first time siblings have competed together in a Paralympic Games...First athlete to win three consecutive wheelchair marathon grand slams—Boston, London, Chicago and New York—in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016...In July 2013, she became the first woman to earn six titles at a single International Paralympic Committee Athletics World Championship.

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