Meet Tatyana McFadden, Team USA's most decorated Para track and field Paralympian

Tatyana McFadden’s story began in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1989, when spina bifida left her paralyzed from the waist down at birth. Alone in an orphanage without access to a wheelchair, Tatyana moved through life on her hands until the age of six. Doctors warned she wouldn’t survive.

Now, at 35 years old and her seventh Paralympics behind her, McFadden has become the most decorated U.S. Para track and field Paralympian of all time. But that’s not all.

She has transformed the landscape of sports for athletes with disabilities, broken records, changed laws, and inspired millions along the way. McFadden shared her story in an exclusive interview with Olympics.com.

First wheelchair was "freedom like I had never felt before.”

Born in post-Soviet Leningrad, McFadden embraced a positive mindset. “I didn’t know what disability meant when I was young,” she told Olympics.com. “I just wanted to play like all the other kids. I never saw myself as different.”

In 1994, her life changed when Deborah McFadden, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services commissioner, adopted her and brought her to the United States at the age of six. There, Tatyana received her first wheelchair, a red one that symbolized freedom. "I got in it, and I was pushing up and down the street so fast, doing wheelies,” she recalled in an interview with NBC Sports.

Once in Baltimore, McFadden immersed herself in sports, trying everything her local sports program had to offer. But it was in a racing chair that she found her true calling. “The moment I sat in that racing chair, I knew it was for me,” she said. “It was freedom like I had never felt before.”

And just like that, her dream to become a Paralympian was born.

Tatyana's Law: taking a stand against systemic discrimination

McFadden’s Paralympic debut came only nine years after arriving in the U.S. In Athens 2004, the 15-year-old McFadden won silver in the T54 100m and bronze in the 200m.

But that wasn’t all the teenager would accomplish that year, as there was still a battle to be fought at home.

“No one thought I would make the team, no one thought I would medal. When I came back from the Games, people didn’t really know that the Paralympics happened. I wanted to join the high school track team, but I didn’t have the right to run alongside the other runners. I didn’t understand why I was being discriminated against."

So McFadden filed a lawsuit against her high school in Maryland, ultimately leading to the passing of the Fitness and Athletic Equity for Students with Disabilities Act, known informally as “Tatyana’s Law,” which requires schools to provide equal opportunities for disabled athletes to participate in interscholastic sports.

“I want to talk more about that lawsuit. Being 15 years old, going through this all throughout high school, and it really like matured me behind my years” McFadden told Olympics.com.

“It wasn’t an easy fight, but it’s had such a huge impact. The young athletes competing now, many of them were just in high school a year or two ago, and they were able to participate because of that law. I still get messages today from people telling me that they can compete because of what I fought for.”

Some of these young athletes even competed alongside her at the Paralympics in Paris.

Tatyana McFadden: A Paralympic powerhouse

McFadden’s success in Athens was only the beginning. She went on to win her first three Paralympic titles in London 2012 and an incredible six medals, including four golds, at Rio 2016.

In addition to her 21 Paralympic medals, the American has 24 World Major Marathon wins, including four consecutive Grand Slams, and has broken five world records in across Para track and field.

McFadden's range is astounding, competing in events ranging all the way from the 100m to the marathon.

Her success even transcends seasons, as she competed in the Sochi 2014 Winter Paralympic Games, winning silver in the one-kilometer ski sprint. A special moment for McFadden, who competed in Russia, the country of her birth, in front of both her adoptive mother and her birth mother.

"I cried when she crossed the finish line. I think back to this little girl in an orphanage. She's come back to the place where she was, and she wanted to invite the people who saved her life," she said about her winter Paralympic silver.

A battle with blood clots

But her journey to the podium hasn't always been smooth. After a battle with blood clots in 2017, she faced a long and grueling recovery that extended well into Tokyo 2020.

“It was really tough,” McFadden admitted. “The blood clots set me back mentally and physically. It took 18 months to recover. Even when I was training and racing, I just wasn’t at my best.”

She found support in other elite athletes who had faced similar health challenges. Olympian Katie Hoff, who also struggled with blood clots, became an important confidante. “It helped to talk to someone who understood,” McFadden says. “There’s not enough support or education out there for patience with blood clots. Anyone can get them.”

But McFadden made a remarkable comeback. And, at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, she added two more medals to her collection: silver in the 100m and a bronze in the mixed relay, officially becoming the most decorated track and field Paralympian in the United States.

“There were a lot of new risks going into these Paralympic Games,” McFadden explained. “I worked with a new coach and completely changed my training. But what I learned was that success doesn’t always look like a medal. It’s about how you compete, and I felt competitive again.”

She reflected on breaking the record: "I'm really proud to walk away with being the most decorated in the U.S. with 22 total Paralympic medals, 21 summer track medals, which is pretty amazing," McFadden said.

Now that, as McFadden put it, she has “done it all, won all the medals,” she turns to give back to her community. She started by donating the money from her silver and bronze to Move United, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting Para sport.

"After these Paralympics in Paris, I decided to go back again and give the earning winnings of my two medals to Move United. I recently became an ambassador, and I want it to be a four-year commitment all the way to LA because I don't know whose life I'll change. Maybe the next Paralympian will be formed."

The next challenge: LA 2028 and beyond

With the Paris Games behind her, McFadden now turns her focus to an even more personal stage: the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games, where she aims to break new records on home soil.

“I have unfinished business,” she said. “It’s not just about the medals, though, yes, I’m aiming to break the global record." McFadden needs only one more medal to become the most decorated track and field Paralympian of all time.

"But it’s also about what we, as Americans, can do for people with disabilities in our communities as we host the LA 28 Games in our own country."

She challenges her host nation to go above and beyond what Paris did in terms of visibility and exposure.

“We had 15.4 million views this year at the [Paralympic] Games, so that's huge and really exciting.” McFadden said. She credits the rise in social media storytelling as a critical factor in boosting the stories of Paralympic athletes.

“I think the power is in storytelling,” she explained. “People hear my story, and they tell their friends. The next thing you know, more people are watching, more people are paying attention.”

She also called on the U.S. to follow Europe’s lead in embracing Paralympic sports. “When I was in Paris, even my prelim races were sold out. I’ve never experienced that before,” she says. “I challenge LA to do the same and go even further.”

Although she is nowhere near done, McFadden contemplated the legacy she hopes to leave behind. “I want my legacy to be about equality and equity,” she said. “Not just for Paralympics and wheelchair racing, but for people with disabilities in everyday life."

Looking back, looking forward

As McFadden reflects on her journey from the orphanage in Leningrad to the Paralympic podiums around the world, her thoughts turn to the little girl she once was.

If she could go back in time, what would she say to her younger self?

“I would say thank you for being so brave,” McFadden answered. “The attitude that I had in that orphanage was so different than a typical childhood in an orphanage with a disability. I didn’t see myself as different back then. I just wanted to be involved. And that mindset shaped everything."