Frank Thomas

Young Notable Sports Figures
Chronology
1950 Born October 14, in Birmingham, Michigan
1971 Hired Peter Schotting as her speed skating coach
1972 Competed in Winter Olympics
1976 Competed at the Winter Olympics; married cyclist Jim
Ochowicz; briefly retired to have child, Kate
1980 Began training intensely in both sports again
1981 Placed seventh at the World Speed Skating Championship
1982 Placed second at the World’s Cycling Championship
1983 Retired from competition; gave birth to Elli on December 15
part of her year-round training program, which also included
running and skating.
In 1972, Young competed in her first Winter
Olympics, in Sapporo, Japan. She finished fourth in the
500-meter race, missing the bronze by 8/100 of a second.
That same year, she won both 500-meter races at
the World Sprint Championship. Young continued to
modify her training, increasing the intensity and focusing
on strength and endurance. She also decided to do
longer races, not just sprints.
In the mid-1970s, Young was a dominant force in
speed skating. In 1973, she won the U.S. Speedskating
Championships in the 500-, 1000-, and 3000-meters.
She also won the 500- and 1000- meters at the World
Sprint Speed Skating Championships, and the 500-meters
at the Women’s World Speed Skating Championships.
In 1975, she won the 500-meters at the World
Sprint Speed Skating Championships.
Wins Olympic Medals
All her success in the mid-1970s helped prepare
Young for the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.
At the games, she first won a silver in the 1500-meters,
then strained a ligament in her left foot. Despite the
injury, she won gold and set an Olympic record in the
500-meters and took the bronze in the 1000 meters. Later
that year, she also won the Women’s World Speed Skating
Championships in both the 500- and 1000-meters.
Competes as Cyclist
When Young was 20 years old, she began competing
as a cyclist, during the speed skating off-season. As with
speed skating, her first coach was her father. Young won
her first titles at the 1971 ABLA (Amateur Bicycle
League of America)’s National Sprint Championships.
Young did not really become serious about cycling
until 1973, when she decided to see how she would fair
against international competition. She did well. In 1973,
Young became the first American to win an international
cycling event in more than 50 years when she won the
women’s sprint title at the World Cycling Championships.
She won despite the fact that she had crashed
twice and had injuries that should have knocked her out
1820
Awards and Accomplishments
1970 Wins U.S. National Outdoor championship in speed skating;
wins North American Outdoor Championship in speed skating
1971 Wins U.S. National Outdoor championship in speed skating;
wins ABLA (Amateur Bicycle League of America) National
Sprint title in bicycling
1972 Wins both 500-meter races at World Sprint Championships
(speed skating)
1973 Wins U.S. Speedskating Championships in 500-, 1000-, and
3000-meters; wins 500- and 1000- meters at the World Sprint
Speed Skating Championships; wins 500-meter gold at the
Women’s World Speed Skating Championship; wins women’s
sprint title at the World Cycling Championship; wins women’s
sprint title at the ABLA national track championships in cycling
1974 Wins ABLA Women’s National Sprint title in cycling
1976 Competes at the Winter Olympics, winning gold in 500-meter
race, bronze in 1000-meter race, and silver in 1500-meter
race; wins the Women’s World Speed Skating Championship
in both 500- and 1000-meters; wins the 500 meter GKWS
(speed skating), setting world’s record; wins the U.S. Sprint
Championship and the World Sprint Championship (cycling);
named USOC’s (United States Olympic Committee)
sportswoman of the year
1981 Wins women’s sprint gold medal at the National Track Cycling
Championships; wins World’s Cycling Championship; named
USOC’s sportswoman of the year
of the race. Young also won the ABLA’s women’s national
sprint championship that year.
Young wanted to quit competitive cycling, but was
talked into staying by Mike Fraysse, the U.S. team manager.
In 1976, Young won two more titles—the U.S.
Sprint Championship and the World Sprint title—after
the Winter Olympics. Despite her success as a cyclist,
speed skating remained her first love. She told Nan Nelson
of the Milwaukee Journal, “Even though I try not to
have too much of a preference, I think that skating is
more graceful, and I think there is more technical skill
involved in it.”
FURTHER INFORMATION
Books
Hickok, Ralph. A Who’s Who of Sports Champions:
Their Stories and Records. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
1995.
Johnson, Anne Janette. Great Women in Sports. Detroit:
Visible Ink Press, 1996.
Layden, Joe. Women in Sports: The Complete Book on
the World’s Greatest Female Athletes. General Publishing
Group, 1997.
Porter, David L., editor. Biographical Dictionary of
American Sports: Outdoor Sports. New York: Greenwood
Press, 1988.
Sherrow, Victoria. Encyclopedia of Women and Sports.
ABC-CLIO, 1996.
Woolum, Janet. Outstanding Women Athletes: Who They
Are and How They Influenced Sports in America.
Oryx Press, 1998.