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Twenty World Championships medals.
Getty / BEN STANSALL
Twenty-four World Major Marathon titles.
She repeated it again in 2014.
And again in 2015.
And again in 2016.
How she became a pro athlete
I didnt have a typical childhood, McFadden tells SELF.
She was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Soon after, her birth mom put McFadden in an orphanage.
Life then took a radical turn for McFadden.
Still, her health issues persisted.
I was really sick and pretty anemic, McFadden remembers.
I was very underweight.
Participating in that sports program, says McFadden, really did save my life.
It was such a challenge, she says of the sport.
I just really wanted to really work hard in it.
She began to set goals and dreams for herself.
And she got fast.
Thats because at the time, she points out, there was little awareness about theParalympics.
In fact, McFadden didnt even know the games existed until shortly before attending the U.S. Paralympic Trials.
These inequities were at odds with the way McFadden viewedand still viewsthe world.
Ive never seen myself as someone who is disabled.
Ive always taken thedisout of disabled and just kind of kept itabled," she says.
And on that topic, McFadden says there are several common misconceptions.
One major one: Her racing chair isnt a bike, and it doesnt have gears.
She powers it with the strength of her armsand her arms alone.
Also, pushing with your arms is really difficult.
On top of hauling your entire body weight, youre also hauling the weight of the chair itself.
Imagine carrying a 20-pound weight with you the whole time, says McFadden.
Thats what we have to do with every single race.
And training for wheelchair racing is nothing short of intense.
She wanted to compete alongside her nondisabled peers and was told that it wasn’t possible.
They offered to let her compete in separate wheelchair events at high school meets.
In 2013, those standards became federal law, opening doors and improving equity for students across the country.
Since then, McFadden has continued to use her voice to promote equality for people with disabilities.
Equality has improved in other ways too.
Now, theyre done together.
Her work is not done, though.
I will fight for that, she says.
Disabilities, whether hidden or visible, deserve more public conversation, she believes.
People dont talk about it and it needs to be talked about and it needs to be OK.
But ultimately, its about much more than taking home gold, silver, or bronze.
