Tatyana McFadden, between the 18th and 19th mile marker, leading the elite womens wheelchair field in the Virgin Money London Marathon Tatyana went on to win the race in a time of 01:44:14
Tatyana McFadden born April 21, 1989,) is a Russian-born United States Paralympian athlete competing in the category T54. McFadden has won 10 Paralympic medals in multiple Summer Paralympic Games. McFadden was born in Leningrad, then Soviet Union, on 21 April 1989. She was born with spina bifida, a congenital disorder that paralyzed her from the waist down. After her birth mother abandoned her in an orphanage that was too poor to afford a wheelchair for her, she walked on her hands for the first six years of her life. The doctors told her she was so sick that she had very little time to live. While in the orphanage, she met Deborah McFadden, who was visiting Russia as a commissioner of disabilities for the Health Department. Deborah, a single mother, adopted Tatyana and took her to live in Baltimore. McFadden took up a variety of sports while growing up to strengthen her muscles: first swimming, then gymnastics, wheelchair basketball, sled hockey and track and field. McFadden attends the University of Illinois studying for a degree in Human Development and Family Studies, and is on the University of Illinois Wheelchair Basketball team. McFadden became the first athlete to win six gold medals at a championships during the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon. She claimed gold in every event from the 100 meters through to the 5,000 meters. McFadden also won the Boston, Chicago, London, and New York marathons in 2013. This made her the first person – able-bodied or otherwise – to win the four major marathons in the same year. She also set a new course record for the Chicago Marathon (1 hour, 42 minutes, 35 seconds). McFadden began 2014 by returning to the country of her birth, Russia, to compete in the Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi. After winning silver medal in the 1 km ( mi) Sprint sitting cross-country skiing event; McFadden claimed she was "fulfilled" after winning the medal in front of all of her family including her biological mother.
Size: 5119px × 3650px
Location: North Colonade, West India Quay, Canary Wharf, London
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 2016, athlete, canary, games, london, marathon, mcfadden, paralympian, sport, summer, superwoman, tatyana, wharf, wheelchair, winner, winter
