Victoria Arlen

Victoria Arlen is an American television personality, actress, speaker, model, and former paralympian swimmer. She is best known for her work with ESPN, her achievements in international Paralympic swimming, and her television co-hosting roles.

Born on September 26, 1994, in New Hampshire, United States, Arlen was raised in a Christian household by her parents, Larry and Jacqueline Arlen. Born as one of triplets alongside two brothers, she grew up in an athletic family environment where her father and brothers played hockey. At age eleven, Arlen developed two extremely rare conditions: transverse myelitis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. The onset caused her to lose the ability to speak, eat, walk, and move, placing her in a vegetative state for nearly four years. Although doctors considered her recovery unlikely, she remained fully conscious and aware of her surroundings while unable to communicate.

In 2010, at age 15, a new medication reduced her seizures, allowing Arlen to regain the ability to communicate with her mother. Supported by her family, she began re-learning how to speak, eat, and move. Before her illness, Arlen had loved to swim, and her brothers reintroduced her to the water prior to her regaining the ability to walk. A little over a year after returning to the pool, she pursued competitive Paralympic swimming.

Arlen qualified for the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London as part of Team USA following a world record-breaking performance at the U.S. swimming trials in June 2012. At the London Paralympics, she won four medals, consisting of one gold and three silver. In 2013, prior to competing in Montreal, she was ruled ineligible for future Paralympic competitions due to rules requiring proof of permanent disability, as her doctor noted a possibility of future recovery. The decision was contested by her family but remained intact, while Arlen was permitted to keep her 2012 medals.

In April 2015, Arlen transitioned from sports to broadcasting by joining ESPN, becoming one of the youngest on-air talents hired by the network. By April 2016, she had re-learned to walk after nearly ten years of paralysis from the waist down, though she reported in 2017 having no sensation in her legs.

Arlen's television career expanded to entertainment programming when she competed on the 25th season of Dancing with the Stars in 2017 alongside professional partner Valentin Chmerkovskiy, reaching the semi-finals and placing fifth. In 2020, she joined American Ninja Warrior Junior as a co-host for its second season, replacing Laurie Hernandez. She has also served as one of the co-hosts for ESPN's SportsNation.