No Off-Season Episode 5 | Tatyana McFadden | A Record-Setting Marathoner’s Guide to Mental Health

Born with spina bifida and without the use of her legs, Tatyana McFadden spent her early childhood in an orphanage, learning about self-reliance and inner strength while walking on her hands. Encouraged to participate in athletics by her adoptive American parents, Tatyana would ultimately grow up to dominate wheelchair racing, thus far winning 20 Paralympic medals and 24 major marathons. Throughout her racing career, and during her fight for equality in sport, Tatyana has relied on her mental strength to overcome challenges—a high-pressure lawsuit, a career-threatening condition—establishing herself as a leader as both athlete and advocate. In this inspiring, singular conversation with Crisis Text Line’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shairi Turner, Tatyana reflects on the foundations of her mental health, who she turns to for support and what strategies she’s established to get to the starting line with confidence, clarity and perspective.