115. Tatyana McFadden, 17-Time Paralympic Medalist
Ali on the Run Show
Ali Feller
4.9 • 3.7K Ratings
🗓️ 16 January 2019
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
“I never thought of myself as someone who was different.” —Tatyana McFadden
Tatyana McFadden is one of the most decorated athletes on the planet. She's a 17-time Paralympic medalist, and she has won 24 World Marathon Majors. In 2013 alone, she won the Boston, Chicago, London, and New York City marathons. In 2015, she shattered the New York City Marathon record by 7 minutes and 20 seconds. But Tatyana wasn't born into success — she was born in Russia with Spina Bifida, a disease that left her paralyzed from the waist down. She spent the first six years of her life in an orphanage, crawling on her hands because she didn't have access to a wheelchair. At six years old, everything changed: Tatyana was adopted by Deborah McFadden, who at the time was the Commissioner of Disabilities for the Bush administration and happened to be at the orphanage on a business trip. Tatyana moved to the United States, was introduced to sports as a way to get strong, and by 15 was competing at the Paralympics. In addition to her outstanding athletic accomplishments, Tatyana is an outspoken advocate for people living with disabilities, and later this spring she'll complete her master's degree in pursuit of a career as a child life specialist.
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What you’ll get on this episode:
- Tatyana talks about her childhood and what it was like growing up with Spina Bifida in an orphanage in Russia and how she made her way to becoming a world-class athlete (2:55)
- Tatyana’s take on the word “disability” (10:50)
- What exactly is Spina Bifida? (13:35)
- What brought Tatyana’s mom to the orphanage in Russia (17:00)
- What it was like having a disability in high school, and how Tatyana went on to create an important law for high schools around the country — and then meet the Obamas and Ellen DeGeneres (19:00)
- How Tatyana became confident and outspoken (27:40)
- Why Tatyana decided to go all-in on the marathon, and what it’s like racing in a chair (30:30)
- What Tatyana’s training looks like before a goal race (38:30)
- What it means to be brave (41:00)
- What can people do to make life easier for people with disabilities? (44:30)
- Tatyana on insecurities, grad school, what she’s proudest of, and what’s next (47:40)
What we mention on this episode:
Tatyana on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode of The Alley on the Run Show is brought to you by Aftershocks. |
| 0:08.4 | Welcome to The Alley on the Run Show. I'm your host Allie Feller and today I'm talking to one of |
| 0:13.6 | the most inspiring women on the planet. My guest today is Tatiana McFadden. If you don't know |
| 0:20.1 | Tatiana's incredible story, you'll get to hear it firsthand today. But the short version is that |
| 0:25.6 | she was born in Russia with Spina Bifida. She was paralyzed from the waist down. Tatiana spent the |
| 0:31.8 | first six years of her life in an orphanage crawling around on her hands because the orphanage |
| 0:36.5 | couldn't afford a wheelchair for her. Fast forward to present day, we're skipping a lot here. |
| 0:41.5 | Tatiana is a Paralympian. She has won 24 world marathon majors and in 2013 alone she won the Boston |
| 0:49.1 | Chicago London and New York City Marathons. Then in 2015 she broke the New York City Marathon course |
| 0:56.3 | record by a whopping seven minutes and twenty seconds. Tatiana is an indomitable force on the |
| 1:02.7 | roads and she has an unbeatable spirit to match. She's an outspoken advocate and I am so thrilled to |
| 1:08.4 | have her sharing her story today. Before we do that, I mentioned the TCS New York City Marathon |
| 1:13.9 | and you all know that is my favorite race in the world so I just want to remind you the lottery |
| 1:18.9 | for the 2019 marathon is now open. If you're hoping to run the world's greatest race this year, |
| 1:24.4 | go to NYCmarathon.com between now and February 14th because fun fact when I ran the race in 2016, |
| 1:32.1 | I actually got in through the lottery so as Alexander Hamilton would say, do not throw away your shot, |
| 1:38.1 | go enter the lottery and then tell me that you enter it and we'll talk about it and get really |
| 1:42.0 | excited. And now first, let's hear from Tatiana McFadden. |
| 1:51.1 | Tatiana McFadden, welcome to the Allie on the Run Show. I could not be more excited to have |
| 1:56.1 | you joining us today. Oh, thank you so much. It's a pleasure and honor to be here. |
| 2:00.7 | Okay, so we start every episode of the show with our warm-up. Tell everyone who you are, where you're |
| 2:06.4 | from and what you do. I am Tatiana McFadden. I'm a 17-time Paralympic medalist. I am a 24-time |
... |
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