Sheila Young was born in Birmingham Michigan on October 14, 1950. Sheila's family moved to Detroit where Sheila attended Denby High School. Her parents were skaters and had encouraged Sheila and their other children to compete in speed skating. Sheila had skated since age 2, and her father took over her training when her mother died from cancer. Sheila skated at Quarton Lake in Birmingham and on the frozen canals on Belle Isle. Sheila became the first American to win three medals in the winter olympic games at Innsbruck Austria. She took gold, silver and the bronze medal.
She was another rider like Heiden and Novara who competed in both cycling and speed skating. In 1973 Sheila became the fastest women in the world in both speed skating and cycling. It was the first track championship for the U.S. in more than 50 years. Since 1971, Sheila had been a highly accomplished athlete in both cycling and skating. She became the first athlete this century to be world champion in two sports at the same time.
Sheila won the match sprint in 1971, 73 nationals. In 1976 Sheila beat Sue Novara in the finals of the match sprint at the world championships in Italy. Sue won both the nationals and the worlds in 1976, and 81. In 1981 Sheila came out of a 4 year retirement to win the world sprint championship in Czechoslovakia. It was her third rainbow jersey after winning in 1973 and 1976. She was a 4 time national sprint champion in 71, 73, 76, and 81. Sheila won three silver medals, and five of the title matches were against Sue Novara, a fierce rival of the same Detroit based Wolverine sports club. Also in 1981 Sheila took 2nd place at the USCF Criterium Championships at Lima ohio.
Sheila married Jim Ochowicz in 1976, a fellow cyclist from Milwaukee. After her daughter Kate was born, Sheila was happy raising children and she and Jim worked for the Lake Placid Olympic Committee. They had moved to Milwaukee, and after a few years Sheila grew hungry to return to cycling. Sheila came out of retirement to win both the nationals and the worlds in 1981. In 1982 she retired again after winning the silver at the world track championships in Leicester England.
Sheila was named American Sportswoman of the Year by The Olympian, the U.S. Olympic Committee publication. She also made the cover of Kellogg's Corn Flakes and the USOC named her Sportswoman of the Year twice in 1976 and 1981. She was inducted in the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame and the National Speedskating Hall of Fame on May 18, 1991. Sheila was also inducted into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1991 and the Amateur Skating Union Hall of Fame.
Sheila lives with her husband Jim in Menlo Park California. Prior to moving to Menlo Park, Sheila was an elementary Physical Education teacher. Sheila is now a teacher in Physical Education at McKinley Institute of Technology in Redwood City California. Jim and Sheila have three children - Alex, Elli, and Kate. Their daughter Elli Ochowicz is also a speed skater who competed at the Winter Olympics in 2002 and 2006.
Elli said that Athletics was in her genes, whether it be cycling or speedskating or tennis. She feels very fortunate to grow up around athletics and competition. As an 18 year old in 2002 Olympics, Elli was happy to be at the Salt Lake City games, but she concedes that Vancouver 2010 is really her long term goal.
Given the degree of her parents tremendous success, it would have been an upset if Elli had not turned out to be an Olympic athlete. "My mom speaks with a lot of passion about speedskating, she almost relives it through telling it. I can see the twinkle in her eye and her pride in her medals. It makes me want to achieve something like that."
Sheila's brother Roger Young also gained fame as a cyclist, winning seven National Championships titles and winning gold at the 1975 Pan American Games in the Team Pursuit. He also competing at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics.
Links to articles about Sheila Young.
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1st - 3rd Country: USA
 Sheila Young
1971 - National Track Championships, USA - 1st place in match sprint (200 Meters), Portland Oregon.
1972 - World Track Championships, France - 3rd place in match sprint (200 Meters), Marseille.
August 1-4, 1973 - National Track Championships, USA - 1st place in match sprint (200 Meters), Northbrook Illinois. August 22-27, 1973 - World Track Championships, Spain - 1st place in match sprint (200 Meters), San Sebastian.
July 31-August 3, 1974 - National Track Championships, USA - 2nd place in match sprint (200 Meters), Northbrook Illinois.
August 20-25, 1975 - World Track Championships, Belgium - 3rd place in match sprint (200 Meters), Liege.
August 3-4, 1976 - National Track Championships, USA - 1st place in match sprint (200 Meters), Northbrook Illinois. September 4-10, 1976 - World Track Championships, Italy - 1st place in match sprint (200 Meters), Monteroni.
August 11-16, 1981 - National Track Championships, USA - 1st place in match sprint (200 Meters), Trexlertown Pennsylvania. August 31-September 5, 1981 - World Track Championships, Czechoslovakia - 1st place in match sprint (200 Meters), Brno. August 22-23, 1981 - USCF Criterium Championships, USA - 2nd place, Lima Ohio.
1982 - World Track Championships, England - 2nd place in match sprint (200 Meters), Leicester. 1982 - Super-Prestige USA, 1st place.
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