Victoria Arlen

Victoria Arlen (born September 26, 1994) is a current television personality for ESPN,[1] as well as an actress, speaker, model, and former American paralympian swimmer.[2]

Victoria Arlen

Victoria Arlen on her road to recovery at Project Walk in San Diego
Personal information
Full name	Victoria Arlen
Nationality	American
Born	(1994-09-26) September 26, 1994 Exeter, New Hampshire, U.S.
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle, breaststroke
Club	North Shore Sharks
Medal record Women's swimming Representing  United States Paralympic Games 2012 London 100 m freestyle S6 2012 London 400 m freestyle S6 2012 London 4x100 m freestyle relay – 34 points 2012 London 50 m freestyle S6

Arlen is a triplet and has two brothers.

Arlen, at the age of eleven,[3] developed two rare conditions known as transverse myelitis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. This was an extremely rare scenario, and Victoria quickly lost the ability to speak, eat, walk, and move. She slipped into a vegetative state in which recovery was unlikely. Arlen spent nearly four years "locked" inside her own body, completely aware of what was going on, just unable to move or communicate. Doctors believed there was little hope of survival, and recovery was unlikely.[4]

In 2010, after almost four years, Arlen began re-learning how to speak, eat, and move.[3]

In June 2012, after a world record-breaking performance at the 2012 Summer Paralympics US swimming trials, Arlen qualified for the 2012 Summer Paralympics held in London, as a member of Team USA. In London, she won four medals: one gold and three silver.[5] In 2013 she was deemed not disabled enough to compete in the Paralympics because she did not provide significant proof that she has a permanent disability.[6]

In April 2015, Arlen made the transition from professional athlete to sportscaster and joined ESPN as one of the youngest on-air talents hired by the company.[7]

By April 2016 she had learned to walk after spending nearly a decade paralyzed from the waist down.[3] She still has no sensation in her legs.[8]

On September 6, 2017, Arlen was announced as one of the celebrities who would compete on the 25th season of Dancing with the Stars. She was partnered with professional dancer, Valentin Chmerkovskiy.[9] The couple managed to reach the semi-finals, but was ultimately eliminated and placed fifth in the competition.

In 2020, Arlen became a co-host of American Ninja Warrior Junior for its second season, replacing Laurie Hernandez as the latter prepared for the 2020 Summer Olympics before it was postponed to 2021.[10]