Victoria Arlen -- 9 things to know about the 'Dancing with the Stars' contestant

Victoria Arlen is currently competing on Season 25 of Dancing with the Stars this fall on ABC.


Victoria is a 23-year-old TV personality on ESPN and former Paralympic swimmer. She is defying the odds on Dancing with the Stars by performing without having any feeling in her legs.

For this season, Victoria is paired partnered with fan-favorite Val Chmerkovskiy, and they appear to be having a wonderful time together.

Not only is their chemistry great, but the couple has been receiving high scores from the judges week to week. During "Disney Night," Victoria and Val earned 27 out of 30 points and tied for fourth place on the leaderboard. Victoria is proving that nothing can stop her, and that may be true leading right up to the Season 25 finale.

Below is a list of 9 facts Reality TV World has compiled about Victoria Arlen:


- Victoria was born on September 26, 1994 in Boston, Massachusetts. She is a triplet and has three brothers -- L.J., William and Cameron.

- At age 11, the lifelong swimmer and athlete fell ill with transverse myelitis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, rare conditions that left her in a four-year long coma and without use of her legs for nearly 10 years.

- When Victoria was in a coma, she could hear conversations going on in her hospital room as doctors expressed losing hope for any sort of improvement in her condition. However, with support from her family, the athlete's health improved tremendously.

- In June 2010, Victoria returned to the pool for the first time after recovering and worked towards competing in the Olympic Games. Two years later, she participated in four events at the London Paralympic Games in Spring 2012 and took home one Gold and three Silver medals.

- Victoria is a world-record holder in the 100-meter freestyle.


- As a TV personality, Victoria has reported for numerous sports programs -- including X-Games, Invictus Games, The ESPY Awards, Special Olympics World Games and SportsCenter.

- Victoria is a motivational speaker who lives by the motto: "Face it. Embrace it. Defy it. Conquer it."

- In addition to swimming, she enjoys reading, modeling, acting, fashion, sled hockey, tennis, hanging out with friends and family, movie-making, and community service.

- Victoria has been a keynote speaker at many events, including Disney, Pfizer and Liberty, sharing her story across the country.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski