NYRR Media Center

Amanda McGrory won the 2006 New York City Marathon in her first appearance at the event. In 2011, she set an event record (since eclipsed by Tatyana McFadden)—breaking the previous mark by more than two and a half minutes—en route to her second five-borough title. Also in 2011, she won the London and Paris marathons only one week apart and earned the bronze medal at the World Para Athletics Championships marathon.

McGrory competed in five events at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, taking home three medals. She won silver in the 1500 meters, followed by bronze in the 5000 meters two days later, and then another bronze in the marathon. She raced the 800 meters at the marathon at the Tokyo Paralympics this summer.

McGrory opened her 2017 season with a photo-finish win at the Tokyo Marathon, breaking the tape in 1:43:27, and less than a month later she took second at the United Airlines NYC Half. She then collected silver medals in the 1500 meters and 5000 meters, as well as adding a bronze in the 800 meters, at the World Para Athletics Championships in London. She was the runner-up at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in October and third-place finisher at the TCS New York City Marathon in November.

A four-time Paralympian and seven-time Paralympic medalist, McGrory is one of many top wheelchair athletes to have competed on the powerhouse track and field team at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. She works full-time as the Archivist and Collections Curator at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee in Colorado Springs, Colorado. McGrory has a rare condition called transverse myelitis, having developed paraplegia at age 5 after receiving an allergy shot that inflamed her spinal cord. She said she will be retiring from wheelchair racing after this year.