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Victoria Arlen, Special Olympics Champion Ambassador

Victoria Arlen

Global Ambassador

Arlen has a remarkable story of overcoming odds and adversity. At 11 years old, she was diagnosed with two rare conditions; Transverse Myelitis and Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis. She soon lost the ability to speak, eat, walk, and move. She slipped into a vegetative state in which doctors had written her off as a lost cause. Arlen spent nearly four years “locked” inside her own body, completely aware of what was going on but unable to move or communicate. Doctors believed there was little hope of survival, and recovery was unlikely, but Arlen was not ready to give up. In 2010, after almost four years, she began the nearly impossible fight back to life, learning how to speak, eat and move all over again.

She became an accomplished motivational speaker, gold medal winning swimmer, author and television host.

In the Spring of 2016, Arlen defied odds yet again and after spending nearly a decade in a wheelchair paralyzed from the waist down, she was able to learn how to take one step after another and eventually learn how to walk again. Within a year and a half, in the Fall of 2017, she learned to dance as a contestant on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, advancing to the final five.

Her autobiography, entitled “Locked In,” was published in 2018. Arlen is carrying out her dream of helping others, serving as the Founder and Co-Chair of Victoria’s Victory Foundation, a nonprofit that assists those with mobility challenges to achieve their own personal victory. Arlen also is a co-host of American Ninja Warrior Junior.

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