Tatyana McFadden Shatters Women's Wheelchair Record at New York City Marathon
A new record was set Sunday in the New York City Marathon's wheelchair division.
Tatyana McFadden, 26, finished the race in 1 hour, 43 minutes, 4 seconds--shattering the previous women's record by over seven minutes, the Associated Press reports.
McFadden's win rounded out a third sweep of the London, Boston, Chicago and New York City Marathons in the past three years, an unprecedented feat.
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McFadden's is a tale of perserverence in the face of extreme adversity.
Born with spina bifida in Russia, McFadden spent the first six years of her life in an orphanage without even a wheelchair, according to her personal website bio.
She was forced to get around using her arm strength alone, something she would eventually turn into a major advantage.
In 1994, Tatyana was adopted by Deborah McFadden, then Commissioner of Disabilities for the U.S. Department of Health, and brought to the United States.
Read: Woman Paralyzed From the Waist Down Becomes an Aerial Gymnast
Tatyana made her Paralympic debut in 2004 in Athens. She was just 15. The medals she brought home were the first of many.
She started running the marathon circuit in 2009 and has since risen to become the most dominant woman in the sport.
Tatyana is also an outspoken advocate for the rights of disabled persons and has been since high school, when she successfully sued her Maryland school district and forced them to allow her and other disabled students to compete alongside their able-bodied classmates.
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