Sheila Young facts for kids

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Sheila Young

Sheila Young in 1975
Personal information
Full name	Sheila Grace Young-Ochowicz
Born	(1950-10-14) October 14, 1950 (age 74) Birmingham, Michigan, U.S.
Height	1.63 m
Weight	59 kg
Sport
Sport	Track cycling, speed skating
Club	Wolverine Skating Club
Medal record Women's Speed skating Representing the  United States Olympic Games Gold 1976 Innsbruck 500 m Silver 1976 Innsbruck 1500 m Bronze 1976 Innsbruck 1000 m World Championships Gold 1973 Oslo Sprint Gold 1975 Gothenborg Sprint Gold 1976 Berlin Sprint Bronze 1975 Assen Allround Bronze 1976 Gjøvik Allround Women's Cycling Representing the  United States World Championships Gold 1973 San Sebastian Sprint Gold 1976 Monteroni di Lecce Sprint Gold 1981 Brno Sprint Silver 1982 Leicester Sprint Bronze 1972 Marseille Sprint

Sheila Grace Young-Ochowicz, born on October 14, 1950, is a famous American athlete. She was amazing at both speed skating and track cycling. Sheila won three world championships in each sport. She even won world titles in both sports in the same year, twice! This happened in 1973 and again in 1976. In 1976, she also made history. She became the first American athlete to win three medals at one Winter Olympics.

Sheila Young's Early Life and Family

Sheila Young and her family moved to Detroit, Michigan. She finished high school at Denby High School in 1968. Sheila was part of the Wolverine Sports Club in Detroit. This club has helped many athletes become Olympic medalists. They trained in sports like cycling and speed skating.

Sheila's parents were also athletes. They competed in cycling and speed skating. They encouraged Sheila and her three brothers and sisters to try these sports too. Sheila's brother, Roger, also became a famous cyclist. He won seven national championships. Roger also won a gold medal at the 1975 Pan American Games. He even competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Sheila Young's Family Life

Just before the 1976 Winter Olympics, Sheila announced she was getting married. She was engaged to Jim Ochowicz, who was also a cyclist. Jim competed in the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. He raced in different cycling events than Sheila's brother Roger.

Jim and Sheila Ochowicz live in Palo Alto, California. They have three children: Alex, Elli, and Kate. Their daughter, Elli Ochowicz, followed in her mother's footsteps. She became a speed skater and competed in the Winter Olympics in 2002, 2006, and 2010. Sheila also used to be a physical education teacher. She taught at La Entrada Middle School.

Sheila Young's Amazing Sports Career

Sheila Young had her best year in 1976. That year, she won three Olympic speed skating medals. She earned one gold, one silver, and one bronze medal. She also won a bronze medal at the world allround speed skating championships. Sheila became the world sprint speed skating champion. She even set three new world records in speed skating.

In the same year, 1976, she also became the United States sprint track cycling champion. And she won the world track cycling sprint champion title. It was an incredible year for her!

Retirement and Comeback

After her amazing year in 1976, Sheila retired from cycling and speed skating. She and Jim worked for the Lake Placid Olympic Committee. They started their family and moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

But in 1981, when she was 31, Sheila decided to come out of retirement. She won two more cycling championships! Then, in 1982, she retired from sports for good.

Sheila Young's Achievements and Awards

Sheila's three Olympic medals in 1976 were very special. She was the first American athlete to win three medals at one Winter Olympics. Her win at the world sprint speed skating championships in 1973 was also a first. She was the first American female athlete to achieve that.

Winning world championships in two different sports in the same year was also unique. She did this in 1973 (speed skating and track cycling). The United States Olympic Committee recognized her talent. They named her Sportswoman of the Year in both 1976 and 1981.

Sheila Young has been honored in several Halls of Fame. She was inducted into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1981. In 1988, she joined the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame. And in 1991, she was added to the National Speedskating Hall of Fame.

Sheila Young's Medals Overview

Here is a summary of the medals Sheila Young won at important championships:

Sheila Young's Speed Skating Career

Sheila Young in 1974

Sheila Young competed in the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. Her roommates, Anne Henning and Dianne Holum, won Olympic gold medals there. Sheila herself finished fourth in the 500 meter race.

In 1973, Sheila became the World Sprint Champion. She would win this title two more times, in 1975 and 1976. That same year, 1973, she set two world records. She was the first woman to skate the 500 meters in under 42 seconds. In 1975, she won a bronze medal at the World Allround Championships. She repeated this in 1976.

In 1976, just before the Winter Olympics, Sheila made history again. She became the first woman to skate the 500 meters in under 41 seconds. At the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Sheila won three medals. She took gold in the 500 meters, setting a new Olympic record. She also won silver in the 1,500 meters and bronze in the 1,000 meters. After the Olympics, she set two more world records before retiring from speed skating. She briefly returned to compete in 1981 and 1982.

World Records in Speed Skating

Sheila Young set five world records during her career:

Personal Best Records in Speed Skating

Here are Sheila Young's personal best times. The "WR" column shows the world record at the time she set her personal best.

Sheila Young's Track Cycling Career

Sheila Young was the United States sprint champion four times. She won in 1971, 1973, 1976, and 1981. At the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, she won a bronze medal in 1972. She earned a silver medal in 1982.

Sheila became the world sprint champion three times. She won in 1973, breaking a 15-year winning streak by the Soviet Union. She also won in 1976 and 1981. She retired in 1976, but came back to compete in 1981. She won another United States sprint championship that year. She also won gold at the world championships in 1981. After winning silver at the 1982 world championship, she retired for good. She chose to focus on being a mother instead of continuing her sports careers.

If women's cycling had been part of the 1976 Summer Olympics, Sheila might have won medals in both the Summer and Winter Olympics in the same year. This is something that Christa Luding-Rothenburger later achieved in 1988. Christa was also a world sprint champion in both speed skating and track cycling.

See also

In Spanish: Sheila Young para niños