Victoria Arlen
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Victoria Arlen | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
26 September 1994 Boston, Massachusetts, US | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Stroke(s) | Freestyle, breaststroke | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | North Shore Sharks | |||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Victoria Arlen (born 26 September 1994) is an American paralympian swimmer and spokesperson for those with disabilities. Arlen lost the use of her legs due to a rare viral disease called transverse myelitis which also left her in a coma for nearly three years. She competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics held in London, England, winning a total of four medals: one gold and three silver.[1]
Arlen currently lives in Exeter, New Hampshire, where she attends Exeter High School. When she is not swimming, she enjoys acting, reading, modeling, writing, and spending time with family and friends.[2]
In June 2012, Arlen took the S6 400m Freestyle world record at the American Paralympic trials.[3]
In September 2012, Arlen competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, England.[4][5] She won the silver medal in the S6 400m Freestyle after having won an appeal granting her the right to swim in the competition.[6] She then went on to win silver in the 34 points 4x100m Freestyle Relay, silver in the S6 50m Freestyle, and gold in the S6 100m Freestyle in which she broke the world record with a time of 1:13.33.
New Hampshire Governor John Lynch honored Arlen by declaring September 21, 2012 as "Victoria Arlen Day" for both her accomplishments at the 2012 Summer Paralympics and her inspirational message about overcoming life's obstacles and personal disabilities.[7]
On August 10, 2013, Arlen was deemed ineligible to compete in the IPC World Championships after medical tests "failed to prove conclusive evidence of a permanent eligible impairment".[8] She later stated that she was "heartbroken" at the decision.[9]
References
- ↑ "Victoria Arlen". PureHockey. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
- ↑ "Victoria Arlen". Team USA. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
- ↑ "Britain's Ellie Simmonds loses freestyle records to US teenager". BBC News. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
- ↑ "Victoria Arlen". London2012.com. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
- ↑ "Victoria Arlen". TeamUSA.org. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
- ↑ "Victoria Arlen to face Ellie Simmonds". BBC News. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
- ↑ "Exeter celebrates Victoria Arlen Day with parade". Seacost Online. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
- ↑ Hudson, Elizabeth (10 August 2013). "IPC World Swimming: Victoria Arlen ineligible to compete". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
- ↑ Higginson, Mark (12 August 2013). "Victoria Arlen 'heartbroken' by IPC World Swimming omission". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 12 August 2013.