Local U.S. Paralympic gold medalists to throw out ceremonial first pitches this weekend

The Orioles today announced that four Paralympians with local ties, including three gold medalists, will throw out ceremonial first pitches this weekend when the Orioles host the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final three-game series at Oriole Park during the 2016 regular season.

On Saturday, Sept. 24, sisters Hannah and Tatyana McFadden, from Clarksville, Md., will throw out simultaneous first pitches. Hannah was born with a bone deformity in her left leg, which had to be amputated and replaced with a prosthetic leg. She placed fourth in the 100m and seventh in the 400m track events at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio. Tatyana was born with spina bifida and is paralyzed from the waist down. Tatyana won four gold medals in the 400m, 800m, 1500m and 500m track events and earned two silver medals in the 100m and marathon events at the Rio Paralympics. Tatyana ranks first in the world in six events, from 100 meters to the marathon, and won the ESPY Award for Best Female Athlete with a Disability in July.

U.S. Paralympic gold medalists McKenzie Coan and Brad Snyder will throw out simultaneous first pitches on Sunday, Sept. 25. Coan, a junior on Loyola University Maryland's swimming and diving team, is a two-time Paralympian, who competed in the 2012 London Games and the 2016 Rio Games. She won three gold medals and one silver medal at the 2016 Rio Games, in addition to setting a new Paralympic record in the S7 freestyle race. Coan's swimming career began in 2001 when she started aquatic therapy after being diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease) as a child. Snyder, a Baltimore native and former Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Officer who lost his vision after sustaining wounds on the battlefield in Afghanistan, set a world record in the men's S11 100-meter freestyle and took home three gold medals from the Rio Paralympics.