Tatyana Mc Fadden - Competition

Competition

Tatyana McFadden began racing at the age of eight. Competing in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece, she won a silver medal in the women's 100 metres - T54 event, a bronze medal in the women's 200 metres - T54 event, finished fifth in the women's 400 metres - T54 event and went out in the first round of the women's 800 metres - T54 event. She also competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China, where she won a silver medal in the women's 200 metres - T54 event, a silver medal in the women's 400 metres - T54 event, a silver medal in the women's 800 metres - T54 event, a bronze medal in the women's 4 x 100 metre relay - T53-54 event and finished sixth in the women's 100 metres - T54 event.

McFadden had more difficulty competing at home. Her high school, Atholton High School, would not allow her to race at the same time as able-bodied runners, with officials saying her racing chair created a safety hazard and gave her an unfair advantage (as the best wheelchair racers are noticeably faster than runners over long distances). She had to compete in separate wheelchair events at high school meets, meaning that she would circle around an otherwise empty track by herself, which embarrassed her. in 2005 Tatyana and Deborah McFadden filed suit against the Howard County Public School System and won the right for her to race at the same time as the runners starting in 2006, though her score would not be counted for her team.

Her legal victory led to its own controversies, though. In 2006, one of her Atholton teammates lost her victory in the 1600 meters at the state championships after McFadden was ruled to have been acting as a "pacer" for her, by encouraging her rather than racing on her own. And in 2008, McFadden collided with a rival runner from Bishop McNamara High School after a 200-meter race, inflicting bruises and cuts to her legs and making her miss her conference title meet from the injuries.