Tatyana McFadden Becomes Most Winning American Track and Field Athlete

September 06, 2024

Nike athlete Tatyana McFadden has furthered her legacy as the most winning American track and field athlete of all time, Olympian or Paralympian, with a bronze medal win in Paris today in the Mixed 4x100 Universal Relay.

Two days previous, Tatyana officially became the most winning American track and field athlete with a silver medal victory in the Women's 100 Meter.

In her seventh Paralympic Games, Tatyana now has 22 Paralympic medals, including eight gold medals and silver and bronze podiums dating back to Athens 2004. Tatyana achieved her individual 100 Meter medal in the women’s T54 category, a classification for track athletes who compete in a wheelchair and have no leg function.

“My superpower is strong, I’m a strong woman,” she says. “What motivates me is changing the sport, to be more inclusive, to have more equality, to have more accessibility for people with disabilities who want to get involved with Paralympics or just want to get involved with youth programs or adapt to sports in general.”

For Tatyana, it hasn’t been an easy journey to 2024. “I came from such a high in 2016, winning absolutely everything, every major marathon, all of my events at Rio and then I was diagnosed with a blood-clotting disorder,” she says. “It’s been a really hard climb up. I’ve focused on being more confident and still believing in myself that I can do it, because I know that I can.”

Tatyana says the people that inspire her to be the best she can be every day are her coaches and her family, who she says have sacrificed a lot for her to be the successful athlete she is today. As she looks forward, Tatyana says she’s “now redefining myself and what my goals are for the next four to eight years,” noting that her aim is to win 30 major marathons and medal in her Paris events.

Tatyana has been a part of Nike’s Athlete Think Tank since 2023, where she’s helped the brand champion women and girls and expand sport for a younger generation. “The best advice I can give for the next generation is that life isn’t about what we don’t have, but what we do with the gifts we’re given,” she says.

Nike Athlete: Tatyana McFadden

Assets

Portrait of Tatyana McFadden in her Team USA Running singlet with her hair down on her shoulders. Tatyana looks to the right while holding her hands together, sitting in her wheelchair against a blue gradient background.

Full body portrait of Tatyana McFadden wearing her Team USA track and field uniform, with her hands resting on the hand rails of her wheelchair. Tatyana smiles directly at the camera with her hair blowing slightly back, against a blue gradient background.

Side view of Tatyana McFadden pressing her hands together, while facing left. Tatyana wears the Team USA track and field singlet, and her hair is loose with a single braid across the front. She appears against a blue gradient background.

Side view of Tatyana McFadden facing left with her arm raced to her head. Tatyana wears blue Nike arm sleeves and a black Nike tank, while she sits in her wheelchair with her other hand on the chair's hand rail.

Tatyana McFadden leans forward, resting her chin on her hand, as she sits in her wheelchair among architectural pillars in a European setting. Tatyana wears a red blouse and white track pants, and her hair is down over her shoulders.

Fully body portrait of Tatyana McFadden sitting in her wheelchair on a marble entryway with European buildings in the background. Tatyana wears a red blouse, white track pants, and Nike Pegasus EasyOn shoes. She smiles towards the camera.