|
5-15-07 Controversy-Filled Season Ends With Support at Md. Championships |
 |  | Controversy-Filled Season Ends With Support at Md. Championships
| | Wheelchair Racer Hits Finish | | By Matthew Stanmyre
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, May 27, 2007 | BALTIMORE, May 26 -- Tatyana McFadden's speedy trip around the track at Morgan State University on Saturday at the Maryland track and field championships was no surprise. The 18-year-old paraplegic is an elite wheelchair athlete, after all.
But the reception McFadden received during and after the 400-meter race -- athletes making a point to turn and watch, fans clapping and cheering, some screaming her name -- was not a given. The Atholton junior has generated controversy as she has fought for inclusion in high school track and field meets the past two years. Most recently, she lost an appeal asking to compete in the 100 and 200 at states after claiming a clerical error kept her out of qualifying races in last week's region meet. |
Those issues were secondary as McFadden crossed the finish line in 56.45 seconds on Saturday afternoon, ahead of the two able-bodied racers in her heat of the 400.
"The way everyone was cheering for me at the end -- it just makes me feel proud inside," McFadden said. "It turned out to be a great thing."
It was an upbeat ending to a tumultuous two years. McFadden filed two lawsuits, winning inclusion in races but falling short of her goal to have her results counted in team totals at the state championships. At last year's 2A state championship meet, she unintentionally committed a pacing violation in the 1,600 that negated a first-place finish by a teammate, costing Atholton the state title.
This spring, track athletes at Atholton and other schools expressed concerns about the attention McFadden has received, as well as runners' safety when racing against her. And last week at the Maryland 2A South Region meet at Long Reach, she did not compete in the 100 and 200, losing a chance to participate in those events at states.
McFadden's mother said Tatyana's name was left off of the heat sheets in those events.
"He just didn't put her in," said Deborah McFadden, referring to Ned Sparks, executive director of the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association. "If you look at the heat sheets, she was not on there at all."
Atholton coaches acknowledge "registration confusion"; Sparks, who was at the region meet, said McFadden's name was on the heat sheets.
"When those races were contested, she was not there," Sparks said. "The coach entered her name. We had her name. It was signed by the coach. It was signed by the principal."
In a final effort to compete in the 100 and 200 at states, McFadden filed an appeal to the MPSSAA, but was denied. "The good news is that today was uneventful," Deborah McFadden said.
Before her race Saturday, McFadden sat with a cluster of teammates in the stands, nibbling on chicken fingers and watching the races. She said there have been a few incidents this season in which she has felt isolated.
"I'm always wondering what people are thinking," McFadden said. "Like, do they want me out here?"
She said she felt accepted on Saturday. As McFadden wheeled into the shade after the 400, Jess Harlee of Fallston stopped her. "Is that hard on your arms?" Harlee asked. "I can't imagine being able to do that."
Added Middletown's Jo Nichols, who ran next to McFadden in the 400: "It created a good mix with the competition."
The MPSSAA planned to offer six wheelchair events at states, but McFadden was the only wheelchair athlete to qualify. Her finish in the 400 did not count toward Atholton's team scoring, but that is something McFadden hopes changes by next season.
"I really just want to contribute to the team" at states, McFadden said. "We're working up to that."
|
|
Membership 
