TOKYO — Baltimore's own Tatyana McFadden has earned the bronze medal in the T53/54 women’s 5000-meter race Saturday morning at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games!
McFadden finished with a time of 11:15:37, which was a season-best for her. This was he 18th Paralympic medal.
The Paralympian was born with pina bifida, which paralyzed her from the waist down. She said this was medal was a victory as shes faced difficult health challenges over recent years.
“This has been a really hard five years for me, since the start of 2017 with my health and being diagnosed with a blood clot disorder. I have good days and bad days and I was really proud to make Team USA. I’m so happy to bring home my 18th medal,” she said. “Back in 2017 I couldn’t even sit in my chair for 30 minutes. The blood clots were so bad, they were travelling through my body, so we had to stop that and figure out my vessels. My body had to figure out how to adjust to a new norm.”
McFadden will also be competing in the T54 400-meter race, the 800-meter race, the 1500-meter race and the marathon.
