Becomes most winning American track and field athlete with Paris 2024 100m silver

On 6 September 2024, at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, Tatyana McFadden won silver in the women’s 100m T54.[3][18] In a Nike news release following the race, the company highlighted that this medal made her the most winning American track and field athlete of all time, Olympian or Paralympian.[18]

This milestone is historically significant because it situates a Paralympian—specifically a disabled woman—at the top of the all-time American medals table in track and field, surpassing totals of iconic Olympic sprinters and distance runners.[3][18] The fact that a silver medal, rather than a gold, delivered this status underlines the cumulative impact of her decades-long career.

For women’s and disability sports history, McFadden’s Paris 2024 achievement challenges entrenched hierarchies that have traditionally privileged Olympic over Paralympic accomplishments.[12][18] Recognizing a wheelchair racer as the most decorated American track athlete forces institutions, media, and fans to reconsider how they value Paralympic medals and to confront the gendered and ableist biases that have shaped historical record-keeping. The 100m silver itself also underscores her enduring competitiveness in sprint events well into the third decade of her career, offering a powerful symbol of longevity and excellence for disabled girls and women in sport.