McGrory graduated fromUnionville High School inKennett Square, Pennsylvania.She attended theUniversity of Illinois, graduating in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in psychology and in 2018 with a masters in information science. While an undergraduate she competed both in basketball and in track and field.[2]
McGrory earned four medals during the2008 Summer Paralympics inBeijing, China: gold in the 5000 meters, silver in the marathon, and bronze in both the 800 meters and the 4×100 meter relay. She won both the 2009London and 2006New York Marathon wheelchair races.
She has also competed in the World Championships for Track and Field (2006, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017) and Marathon (2015), winning 10 medals over the years (3 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze).[2]
McGrory was diagnosed withtransverse myelitis when she was five years old, after an allergy shot inflamed her spinal cord.[3] Such an occurrence was "I think there was one chance in six million", she said. "But I think it's usually better when you are young because kids are resilient. I couldn't ride a two-wheeler anymore, but my friends could still be outside. But I was the coolest kid in school because I had a wheelchair."[4]
2007: First place (5000m), second place (400m), third place (800m) – Meet in the Heat,Atlanta, GA.
2007: Third place, 1500m – Boiling Point Wheelchair Track Classic, Windsor,Ontario, Canada
2007: Third place, 800m – U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Championships,Atlanta, GA.
2007: First place – Open Women's Division of theShepherd Center Wheelchair Division of the AJCPeachtree Road Race in Atlanta, Georgia with the time of 23:11:05.
2006: Gold medal (800m), silver medal (400m) – IPC Athletics World Championships, Assen, Netherlands
2006: First place – ING New York City Marathon, New York City, New York[10]
2006: Visa Paralympic World Cup, Manchester, United Kingdom
2005: Represented the US at the Jr. Pan-Am Games inWindsor, Ontario
2003, 2004: Traveled to Australia as a member of the USA Jr. Team
