Carla Swart (26 November 1987 – 19 January 2011) was a South African cyclist who won nineteen individual and team cycling titles.[1] She was a professional cyclist, riding for HTC–Highroad Women in 2011.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Carla Swart |
| Born | 26 November 1987 South Africa |
| Died | 19 January 2011 (aged 23) South Africa |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Professional teams | |
| 2009–2010 | MTN Energade Ladies Team |
| 2011 | HTC–Highroad Women |
Swart moved to the United States in 2004 as a teenager.[2] She attended Lees-McRae College, where she was awarded scholarships in running and cycling.[3]
Career
editCarla Swart became the first cyclist to win all four U.S. collegiate titles in one season (2008).[3] She placed 10th in the women's road race in the 2010 UCI Road World Championships, and had placed eighth at the Commonwealth Games in October of that year. She signed with the HTC-Highroad cycling team shortly before her death.[3] Her career spanned 21 national titles in four different biking disciplines: cyclo-cross, mountain bike, road, and track.[2]
Death
editSwart died whilst training in South Africa after being hit by a truck. It was claimed that she had looked over her left shoulder, as if she were in the United States, instead of her right, as would normally be the case in South Africa where vehicles drive on the left-hand side of the road.[3] HTC–Highroad Women teammate Ellen van Dijk dedicated her stage win and general classification victory at the 2011 Ladies Tour of Qatar to Swart. The prize money Van Dijk earned in Qatar was sent to her family.[4][5] Lees-McRae College has a scholarship named in her honor.[6]
Major results
editSource:[7]
- 2009
- 1st Stage 4 Tour of the Gila
- 8th Overall Tour de PEI
- 2010
- National Road Championships
- 3rd Time trial
- 4th Road Race
- 8th Ronde van Drenthe
- 8th Liberty Classic
- 8th Commonwealth Games Road race
- 10th Overall Trophée d'Or Féminin
- 10th World Championship Road race
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ CQ
- ^ a b Weislo, Laura (23 January 2011). "Cycling world remembers Carla Swart". Cycling News. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ a b c d ESPN "Carla Swart dies following accident". Retrieved 9 February 2011
- ^ "Ellen Van Dijk dedicates Qatar win to Carla Swart". velonews. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
- ^ "HTC-Highroad Dedicates Qatar Victory to Carla Swart". firstendurance.com. 4 February 2011. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
- ^ Mitchell, Monte (21 January 2011). "Carla Swart, a cycling star at Lees-McRae College, killed in collision in her native South Africa". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
- ^ "Carla Swart". procyclingstats. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
External links
edit- Carla Swart at UCI
- Carla Swart at Cycling Archives
- Carla Swart at ProCyclingStats
- Carla Swart at Cycling Quotient
- Carla Swart at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
