WHOOP Founder & CEO Will Ahmed sits down with Tatyana McFadden, arguably the best female wheelchair racer of all time.
Tatyana has 24 World Major Marathon wins – including 4 consecutive Grand Slams, meaning she placed first in the Boston, Chicago, NYC, and London marathons in the same year. She has 20 Paralympic medals, including 8 golds, and has broken 5 world records in track and field.
Born in Russia with spina bifida – a congenital disorder that paralyzed her from the waist down – she spent the first six years of her life walking on her hands because the orphanage she was in was too poor to afford a wheelchair for her. Tatyana shares her story and perseverance, including the role that accessibility to sport had in saving her life.
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3:23 – Growing up in an orphanage in Russia
6:23 – Starting her journey as a wheelchair racer, both in sprint and long distances
9:11 – How sports saved her life
18:24 – How she prepares and trains for races
19:07 – How she uses WHOOP
24:07 – How she prioritizes sleep
30:22 – What it took to recover from a potentially career-ending lymphedema
36:58 – Advice for those struggling
39:24 – The big goals she has next
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