CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Several athletes and recent graduates from the University of Illinois recently represented the U.S. at the 2011 International Paralympic Committee Athletics World Championships, taking home a number of medals in their various divisions. The competition was held Jan. 22-31 in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Tatyana McFadden, a U. of I. sophomore from Clarksville, Md., won four gold medals in five of the races in which she competed. McFadden dominated the T54 division, winning the 200-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter and 1500-meter races, and set two new championship records with times of 1:51.10 in the 800-meter race and 3:36.20 in the 1500-meter race. McFadden was the bronze medalist in the 100-meter race as well.
The 22-year-old athlete has set numerous U.S. and international records during her career, and briefly held the world record in the 200-meter race during 2007. McFadden won the wheelchair division of the New York Marathon in 2010 and the Chicago marathon in 2009, and won three silver medals and a bronze medal at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. According to her Web site, McFadden's teammates on the U. of I. wheelchair track team have nicknamed her "The beast" in reference to her physical strength.
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, with spina bifida that paralyzed her legs, McFadden was adopted and brought to the U.S. as a small child.
McFadden's legal battle with her high school district so that she could compete in track alongside her teammates resulted in the Maryland Legislature's passage of the Fitness and Athletics Equity for Students With Disabilities Act in April 2008. The landmark legislation ensured equal opportunities for students with disabilities to participate in physical education and athletics programs in Maryland schools.
At the U. of I., McFadden is majoring in human development and family studies in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.
Anjali Forber-Pratt, a 26-year-old graduate student in the College of Education at the U. of I., finished the championships with a fistful of medals from her wins in the T53 division. Forber-Pratt won silver medals in the 400-meter and 100-meter races, and also took the gold medal in the 200-meter race with a record-setting time of 29.83 seconds. She was the fourth-place finisher in the 800-meter race in her division.
Forber-Pratt graduated from the U. of I. with bachelor's and master's degrees in speech and hearing science and is working on a doctorate in education policy, organization and leadership in the College of Education, where she is a teaching assistant and coordinator of online programs.
Sprinter and U. of I. alumnus Jessica Galli, 28, of Hillsborough, N.J., won the bronze medal in the women's 800-meter race (T53), and narrowly missed a medal in the 200-meter event, finishing fourth behind teammate Forber-Pratt.
Galli graduated from the College of Applied Health Sciences at the U. of I. in summer 2010 with a master's degree with a concentration in health policy and administration. Galli earned a U. of I. bachelor's degree in kinesiology in May 2006.
Alumnus Amanda McGrory, the defending champ in the 800-meter race (T53), sprinted her way to another gold medal with a record-setting time of 1:53:29. McGrory also took the gold in the 5,000-meter race and was the bronze medalist in both the 400-meter race and in the women's wheelchair marathon.
McGrory, 24, who is from Kennet Square, Pa., graduated from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the U. of I. last May with a bachelor's degree in psychology.
Victories at the championships in New Zealand qualified the athletes to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games, to be held in London.
This was the first international competition for three U. of I. men who also were on Team USA - Ryan Chalmers, 20, of Churchville, N.Y., a junior majoring in recreation, sport and tourism; Aaron Pike, 23, of Park Rapids, Minn., a senior majoring in sociology, and Brian Siemann, 21, of Millstone, N.J., a junior majoring in English literature. While they qualified for the finals in some events, they did not win any medals. Chalmers and Pike finished in 24th and 19th places, respectively, in the men's wheelchair race on the last day of competition.
Team USA's head wheelchair track coach was Adam Bleakney, who is also the wheelchair track and road racing coach at Illinois, as well as an alumnus of the university.
Overall, Team USA finished fourth in the competition, collecting 34 medals - nine gold, 10 silver and 14 bronze. China finished first with a total of 58 medals, including 21 gold medals, and the Russian Federation was second with 35 medals, including 18 gold. Brazil, Great Britain and Poland tied for third place with 12 gold medals each.
Post-race video interviews with Forber-Pratt and McFadden are available on Youtube.
More about U. of I. Wheelchair Athletics is available online.