Dr. Tona Hetzler of the MSU Sports Medicine and Athletic Training department has returned from London, England where she was working with the USA Paralympic Track and Field team during the London Marathon. The London Marathon is a Paralympic World Championship event. Nine athletes represented the USA and participated in this event; 8 wheelchair athletes and 1 vision impaired athlete. The US brought home 4 medals from the event; three gold and one bronze.
One of the athletes who took home a gold medal was Tatayna McFadden who competes in the wheelchair division. Tona has worked with Tatayna in various events since her first competition in 2007. Since 2012, Tatayna has taken first place in every marathon she has competed in. Recently, she won the wheelchair division of the 2015 Boston marathon and then, less than a week later, she took home the win for the USA in the London Marathon world championships. For more information on this incredible athlete, visit her webpage at http://tatyanamcfadden.com/
Tona explains that since her first encounter with Paralympic athletes in 2007, she has really enjoyed the opportunity to work with this amazing group of athletes. She states “Not only has it given me a chance to improve my clinical skills, but also provides the opportunities to expose students in the MSU AT program to this setting. Also, having the opportunity to provide medical coverage for these athletes is extremely rewarding.”
For more information on USA Paralympic Track and Field please visit http://www.teamusa.org/US-Paralympics/Sports/Track-and-Field
Tona’s next event with USA Track and Field Paralympics is May 13th-17th in Phoenix, Arizona for the Desert Challenge. http://www.desertchallengegames.com/