Victoria Arlen

Victoria Arlen
Personal information
Full name Victoria Arlen
Nationality American
Born (1994-09-26) September 26, 1994
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Freestyle, breaststroke
Club North Shore Sharks

Victoria Arlen (born September 26, 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 was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She 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 400 m 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 400 m 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 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay, silver in the S6 50 m Freestyle, and gold in the S6 100 m 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

  1. ↑ "Victoria Arlen". PureHockey. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Victoria Arlen". Team USA. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Britain's Ellie Simmonds loses freestyle records to US teenager". BBC News. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Victoria Arlen". London2012.com. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Victoria Arlen". TeamUSA.org. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Victoria Arlen to face Ellie Simmonds". BBC News. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Exeter celebrates Victoria Arlen Day with parade". Seacost Online. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  8. ↑ Hudson, Elizabeth (August 10, 2013). "IPC World Swimming: Victoria Arlen ineligible to compete". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  9. ↑ Higginson, Mark (August 12, 2013). "Victoria Arlen 'heartbroken' by IPC World Swimming omission". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved August 12, 2013.


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