Susan DeMattei (born October 15, 1962) is an American former professional cross-country mountain bike racer.[1] She became the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in mountain biking when she won the bronze medal in the inaugural Olympic Cross-Country Mountain Biking competition at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.[2][3][4] DeMattei was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 1997 and, into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame in 2012.[1][5][6]

Susan DeMattei
Personal information
Full nameSusan DeMattei
Born (1962-10-15) October 15, 1962 (age 62)
 United States
Team information
DisciplineRoad & MTB
RoleRider
Medal record
Women's mountain bike racing
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1996 Atlanta Mountainbike

Bicycle racing career

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Born in Marin County, DeMattei grew up in San Rafael, California.[1][6][7] She first became interested in cycling while attending California State University, Chico, where she was pursuing her nursing degree.[1] She began as a recreational road cyclist before taking up mountain bike racing.[1] DeMattei was a talented climber, and almost immediately after taking up cycling, she was setting local road hillclimb records with times out of reach of most of the male competitors. She tried her hand at mountain bike racing, to even greater success, and was quickly signed to a professional contract by the Diamondback racing team.

From 1990 through 1996, DeMattei finished in the top three in the NORBA Championship Series every year but one.[1] DeMattei won the silver medal in the cross-country class at the 1994 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Vail, Colorado.[8]

Later life

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DeMattei married former professional mountain bike racer and teammate, Dave Wiens.[1] She currently resides in Gunnison, Colorado where she works in the surgical unit of a local hospital.[2]

Races and results

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Results[9]
Year Rank Location Discipline Race
1989 2 Spa (Liege), Belgium Mountainbike, XC, Elite (F) World Championship
3 Redding, USA Mountainbike (F) (f)
2 Vacaville, CA, USA Mountainbike (F)
3 Gunnison,USA Mountainbike (F) (b)
2 Big Bear Lake, CA, USA Mountainbike (F)
2 Ashland-Siskiyou, OR, USA Mountainbike (F)
3 Great Gorge, USA Mountainbike (F) (a)
3 USA Mountainbike, XC National Championship
2 Cannes, France Mountainbike (F)
1991 1 Berlin, Germany Mountainbike (F)
5 Mountainbike, XC, Elite (F) World Cup
1992 3 Hunter Mountain, CA, USA Mountainbike (F)
2 Mammoth Lakes, CA, USA Mountainbike (F)
1993 3 Vail, CO, USA Mountainbike (F)
2 Mammoth Lakes, CA, USA Mountainbike (F)
2 Plymouth, Great Britain Mountainbike (F)
1994 3 Madrid, Spain Mountainbike (F)
2 Plymouth, Great Britain Mountainbike (F)
1 Cairns, Australia Mountainbike (F)
2 Vail, CO, USA Mountainbike, XC, Elite (F) World Championship
1996 3 USA Mountainbike (F) Olympic Games

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Susan DeMattei at the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame". mmbhof.org. March 27, 2014. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Where Are They Now? Chasing Down Susan DeMattei". usacycling.org. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  3. ^ "Where Are They Now? Susan DeMattei". bikemag.com. February 26, 2014. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  4. ^ "Olympics Database". databaseolympics.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  5. ^ "Susan DeMattei at the U.S. Bicycling Bike Hall of Fame". usbhof.org. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  6. ^ a b "San Rafaels's Susan DeMattei Inducted into the Cycling Hall of Fame!". keepmarinmarin.org. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  7. ^ Miller, Ernestine (2002). Making Her Mark: Firsts and Milestones in Women's Sports. McGraw Hill Professional. ISBN 9780071390538. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  8. ^ "Mountain Bike World Championship Results". usacycling.org. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  9. ^ Susan DeMattei, Cyclingarchives.org
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