35 Adaptive Athletes Presented with the Tatyana McFadden Competitor Award
Move United, the national leader in community-based sports and recreation for individuals with disabilities, just announced 35 adaptive athletes who have received the Tatyana McFadden Award for the 2025 competition season.
The award, named after one of the world’s most accomplished athletes, is available is available to youth with disabilities between the ages of 4-18 years old that are competing in any of the 2025 Move United Sanctioned Competition summer sports competitions.
The award provides up to $500 of travel support to awarded youth athletes, thanks to generous support from Tatyana McFadden and the DICK’s Sporting Good Foundation which helps under-resourced nonprofit organizations provide opportunities for youth to play sports nationwide.
McFadden is the most winning American track and field athlete of all time, Olympian or Paralympian! Some of Tatyana’s remarkable accomplishments include:
-23 Paralympic medals (including eight gold medals)
-24 World Major Marathon wins
-7 Paralympic Games
-4 Grand Slams (first place in Boston, Chicago, NYC & London marathons in same year)
-5 world records
She was named the Best Female Athlete of the 2016 Paralympic Games by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), received the ESPY Award as the Best Female Athlete with a Disability, and was named to the Forbes “30 Under 30” list. She was also a producer and star in “Rising Phoenix”, the Netflix drama that tells the story of the Paralympic Movement
Tatyana has competed across the United States and around the world and recognizes that the cost of traveling to competitions is a significant barrier to youth adaptive athletes to compete.
The 35 Tatyana McFadden Competitor Award recipients include:
Luke Bowman
Hayden Compton
Ryan Davis
Austin Evans
Hayden Fletcher
Tayla Gassman
Isabelle Hogness
Janna Martinez
Francis McCabe III
Tucker McCrady
Michaela Mendez
Chase Merriweather
Chase Miller
Meredith Nagelin
Dakota Nesbitt
Jordyn Nichols
Megan Smith
Analisa Spicer
Tessa Taylor
Shellie Brandt
Manuel Torres
Amarius Jones
Angela Saul
Liz Bobis
Samantha Eddington
Tessa Frey
Abigail Harvey
Kati Mullett
Gianni Quintero
Holland Reed
Rylan Rio-Delgado
Eliza Wilder
Wesley VanBrunt
Jaxon Higgins
Joshua Staus
The 35 athletes that have been selected range in age from 8 to 18 years of age and have an eligible impairment as defined by the International Paralympic Committee. The funds will be used by the athletes to compete at the Great Lakes Games in partnership with The Hartford in Lake Forest, Illinois, the Tri-State Games in Cranford New Jersey, the Texas Parasport Games in partnership with The Hartford in San Antonio, Texas, the UCO Endeavor Games in Edmond, Oklahoma, the Desert Challenge Games in partnership with The Hartford in Mesa, Arizona, the Angel City Games in Norwalk, California, the Tri-State Regional Swim Meet in Piscataway, New Jersey, the Peachtree ParaGames in Atlanta, Georgia, the Gateway Games in partnership with The Hartford in St. Louis, MO, the Lone Star Para Invitational in Arlington, Texas, and the Dairyland Games in Madison, Wisconsin.
Another round of grants are planned to be distribute for athletes wishing to compete at The Hartford Nationals conducted by Move United, which is scheduled to take place July 11-17, 2025 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. To learn more about the award, visit moveunitedsport.org/tatyana-mcfadden-competitor-award.
Share
