Tatyana McFadden wins Fourth Gold medal and is honored for exemplary spirit!

Tatyana McFadden, age 27, a member of US Paralympic Team, won her fourth Gold medal yesterday during the womens 800m T54 competition. This was her sixth event during the Rio Games. Today, McFadden will participate in the marathon along Copacabana Beach.

Two days beforehand, McFadden and Ibrahim Al Hussein of the Refugee Team were honored by IPC as models of the "spirit and values of the Paralympic Games at Rio 2016." Each will receive a special gold medal during the closing ceremony.

McFadden was born in Russia with spina bifida; she was paralyzed from the waist down and left int an orphanage under the care of the State. She learned to walk on her hands when a wheelchair was not available.

At age six years, she was adopted and moved to the USA. In high school, McFadden was named as a principal in a lawsuit asserting rights of students with disabilities to have equal access to sport. The result...McFadden was the first athlete to win the marathon grand slam and repeated this achievement three times. In Lyon, France, she won all events in which she competed during the 2013 world championships.

Source: abcnews.go.com

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