Tatyana McFadden Completes Marathon ‘Grand Slam’

Tatyana McFadden completed a marathon “Grand Slam” on Sunday after winning the New York marathon. She also won Boston, London, and Chicago this year.

McFadden didn’t have any issue winning the New York City Marathon, which allowed her to become the first person to win a marathon grand slam.

NBC Sports notes that McFadden, who was born with spina bifida, won the wheelchair event. A longtime sprinter who started doing marathons in 2009, McFadden commented, “I’ve had an incredible year. It’s taken me a long time to get where I am. I didn’t just wake up and this all happened.”

The 10-time Paralympic track medalist finished the 26.2-mile course in one hour, 59 minutes, 13 seconds with a pace of 4:33 per mile. She won by a time of 3:41, adding to her 2010 New York Title.

Now that the NYC marathon is over, USA Today notes that Tatyana McFadden will head back to the University of Illinois to take an exam and graduate. She will also compete in a Nordic skiing World Cup race in December, then head to national championships in January. If all goes well, McFadden will go to the Sochi Paralympics in February.

John Farra, the US Paralympic director of Nordic skiing, commented on Sunday that McFadden’s marathon grand slam is “a great accomplishment.” And she’s a quick study. Farra has the task of teaching the Paralympian the technical skills of maneuvering a Nordic sit ski.

Her success resonated in Russia, the country of her birth, where her mother, Debbie, received messages from supporters in the country who watched the online feed of the race.

McFadden visited her orphanage last year, where she spent the first six years of her life. She presented her gold medal from the 2010 New York City Marathon to the orphanage’s director as a “way to say thank you for keeping me safe for as long as possible and for keeping me alive as long as possible.”

With the marathon grand slam behind her, Tatyana McFadden can focus on Nordic skiing and a chance to go to Sochi.