Riders
Shannon Gillette
Expert
- Age
- 57
- Hometown
- Chandler, AZ (USA)
- Track
- Chandler BMX
Following
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I started racing in 1977 and have been in the sport ever since. I rode for a few teams in the day, including System BMX, Rockville BMX, Hutch, Co Factory Torker, and a short time on Elf. My father ran a few Tracks in Maryland for 20 years. I worked a long side him and gain some know how on track building and maintance thought those years. I now have been working with USA BMX since 1994 as a Track Builder, Track Offical, Track Director and at the start a truck driver. I love my job and work for the best company ever!!! I am just living the dream!!
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2012 USOC Olympic Trials winner 2012 U.S. Olympic Team member 2013 UCI BMX World Champion Time Trial 2013 UCI BMX World Cup Elite Mens Winner 2013 UCI BMX World Cup Time Trail Winner 2013 RedBull Revolution Winner
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I am 21 years old, currently living in Long Beach, California, but soon relocating to Glibert, Arizona. I started racing BMX in 2002 at Orange Y BMX in Orange, California. My dad raced as a teenager at Chandler BMX in Arizona. At the time I started racing my brother had already been racing for a few years, but I had finally decided that I wanted to give it a try. My first national was just a short three weeks later in Reno, Nevada at the season opener of 2003. From 2003 to 2008, my dad, my brother and I raced around the country hitting every race possible, chasing points year after year. Beginning in 2008, my dad and I began attending the World Championships. I saw much success at these races in China, Australia, South Africa, and Denmark. After taking a hiatus from BMX for a short time while I was attending nursing school, I am now back doing what I love, racing BMX. Currently, I race in the 21-25 Girls and Girls Cruiser classes in the USA BMX National Series.
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I’m from the great state of Illinois, I ride for GT Bicycles, and I go to school at Marian University on a BMX scholarship.
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My name is Sarah Walker, I’m from New Zealand and I love & live BMX. I started racing at the age of 10, (beginning of 1999) for some fun and so I wouldn’t be bored watching my brother anymore. Since then I have been to more than 20 countries and lived out of a suitcase for a lot of the last eight years, all with my bike beside me. In 2006, I decided to chase my dream, to be the fastest girl on a 20″ bike in the world, and to be New Zealand’s 1st BMX Olympian. After missing out on a medal at Beijing, I came back to win a Silver Medal in London! My goal is to now win Gold at the next Olympics in Rio, 2016. The Silver Medal in London is the highlight of my career so far edging out dual World Champion in Adelaide, 2009.
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In 2012, Mariana Pajon became only the second Gold medalist from her home country. With her win at the London Olympics, she was instantly boosted in to an instant sports celebrity in Colombia. Mariana followed up her Olympic Gold in 2013 with an incredible last-minute charge to take over the points-lead in Pro Women, coming in to The Grands. In Tulsa, she fought hard with Redline’s Alise Post in all three mains, and came out on top - winning her first USA BMX National No.1 Championship. No.1 Woman Pro and Gold medalist ... there isn’t much that Mariana can’t do and hasn’t won.
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My name is Barry Nobles, They call me the Alabama Slama’. I ride for DK Bikes. If you ever see me at a race, don’t be scared to come up and say wad up!
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Donny Robinson is currently the eldest AA-pro in our sport - having turned Pro in 1999. His moniker is “dR” (his initials), often followed by 10 (his UCi career number. According to Wikipedia, the use of the lowercase “d” for his given name is perhaps related to his relatively diminutive physical size. Always small in stature, since a very young age, Donny was always the smallest child in his age group. But what he missed out on in size, he far made up for it in heart, drive and determination. On June 25, 2008, Robinson was chosen by Mike King, team director of the 2008 USA BMX Olympic Team, to represent the U.S.A.. His teammates at the 2008 Beijing debut were Jill Kintner, Mike Day, and Kyle Bennett. His Olympic dream was realized at least in part when he came in third at the Summer Olympics winning a Bronze Medal; avoiding a pileup that saw South Africa’s Sifiso Nhlapo take out nearly half the field. Since it was the sport’s debut and the Mens final was run after the women’s, he officially became the third American and the sixth person overall to win an Olympic Medal in BMX Racing. Throughout his career and often since Beijing, dR has gained a reputation of landing onhis head. A LOT. One of the toughest guys around, he admitted in late 2013 to suffering at least 25 concussions over the course of his career. In the same interview, he advocated for better concussion protocol at the lower levels of BMX racing. Donny’s great sense of rumor - mocking his own reputations as the “little, old guy with memory loss” has boosted dR’s popularity, and he always seems to be a fan favorite, drawing the most cheers from the crowd.
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Since a very young age, Australian Sam Willougby’s dream had been to race in the USA and become the No.1 Pro. It’s been a long and tedious journey - one that he has worked very hard to achieve. Incredibly, he’s made it come true. In fact, that dream has come true three times so far. While working his way to the top of the Australian ranks, Sam became the first rider to win back-to-back Junior World Titles (2008 and 2009), before moving up to the Elite ranks. It was in 2010 - now with full factory support from Redline Bicycles, that Sam won his first No.1 pro title in America. His soaring 2011 results helped pull Australia to the highest ranked BMX nation - and Sam capped things off with a UCi World Championship; only three months out from the London Games. Full of confidence, Willoughby made his Olympic debut in London where he would again tackle the world’s best, and did his best to chase down Latvia’s Maris Strombergs. Sam wound up with a silver, for his first Olympic try - and upon returning to his new home in the U.S., proceeded to win another National No.1 Pro title in USA BMX. 2013 could very well be Sam’s best year ever; as he kicked off Day 2 of the Winternationals with a AA-pro win and wouldn’t stop winning until 13 races later. Sitting out Southpark to prepare for the Worlds, officially ended Sam’s win-streak, but he would start a new one with a late-season charge of 5 consecutive wins, clinching yet another No.1 Pro Championship. His 13-consec win-streak would shatter the previous Pro record, held by John Purse - and his 18 Win total for the year places him in 2nd place for “most wins” in a season. While the 2013 Cup was his third ever, his 2-in-a-row feat places Sam in good company - joining Brian Patterson, Gary Ellis, Pete Loncarevich, Christophe Leveque, Warwick Stevenson and Bubba Harris. While Sam surely has nothing else to prove - and has already put his name in the BMX history books, he’s definitely not done dominating the sport. There was a lot on the line in 2014: Could Sam tie Bubba Harris’ lone record of 3-in-a-row? At the same time, would he put a 4th No.1 Cup in his collection amd add his name alongside Ellis and Loncarevich as the only 4-in-a-lifetime Pro Champions? Sam went to Tulsa looking like the favorite - winning the 2014 ROC, but was struggling a bit out of the gate in a couple of races. Unfortunately, a bad gate start in the all important Grands semi forced Sam to make up some ground from mid-pack, and while in the 4th place transfer spot he would up casing the berm-jump and going OTB. His weekend, his year and his quest for a record-setting No.1 Pro title was no over. In 2015, Sam is again on target for the No.1 title - and we'll find out in November if he can earn himself a 4th No.1 Pro championship.
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Despite being one of the best female BMX racers in the U.S. back in 2008, Alise Post was denied a spot on the Olympic team because, at age 17, she was too young. At the time, the age minimum for an Olympic BMX racer in 2008 was 19. The young BMX star from St. Cloud, Minn., who was accustomed to racing at the sport’s top level, was forced to witness BMX’s pinnacle event from afar. To distract herself from the disappointment, Alise spread herself thin across three sports: BMX, gymnastics, and track and field, while maintaining a 4.0 grade average. Throughout her years, Alise has accomplished plenty: Multiple NAG No.1 titles in ABA 2001 ABA National No.1 Girl 2003 ABA National No.1 Girl Cruiser 2004 ABA National No.1 Girl Cruiser 2006 ABA National No.1 Woman Pro 2006 Golden Crank Rookie Pro of the Year 2007 ABA National No.1 Woman Pro Yet, the Olympic dream was still at the top of her list. Overcoming injuries and fresh competition brought new challenges to her. By the end of 2009, Post was back among the world’s best. Once she became eligible for the 2012 Olympic Games, Alise took her BMX dedication to a whole new level - training with Australia’s Sean Dwight. Upon graduating high school in 2009, Alise retired from gymnastics and track and field in order to relocate — at the invitation of USA Cycling — to the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA.. Although she remained busy by continuing her education as a full-time student at the University of San Diego for the 2009-10 academic year and by increasing her involvement on the BMX World Cup circuit, she saw big improvements in the beginning of 2010. As a result, she resolved to narrow her focus yet again by making the difficult decision to take a break from college and completely dedicate herself to racing. Within months of this decision, Alise claimed a place as the top-ranked American, both nationally and internationally, by taking third place at both her first Elite World Championship, and at a World Cup race on her home track in Chula Vista. A true competitor, the 5’2”, 120 lb. Post overcame yet another injury and was back on her bike in time to successfully defend her USA Cycling national championship title in the spring of 2012 and wound up making her Olympic dream come true - as she was chosen for Team USA and set to head to London. The London Olympic games has its ups and downs, as all of Minnesota and the BMX World were cheering her on. A crash in the semi KO’ed her for a second or two, and in front of the World stage, she insisted on crossing the finishline with her bike - albeit, a bit wobbly and discombobulated. It was an unfortunate way to finish off her chase for a medal - but she already has her sights set for Brazil in 2016.
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Māris Štrombergs (born March 10, 1987 in Valmiera, Latvia) is a professional BMX racer - hailing from Latvia but currently living in Murrieta, California. In the 2008 Summer Olympics (held in Beijing, China), Maris became the first Olympic champion in BMX cycling. Earlier that year, he’d won the 2008 UCI BMX World Championships - also held in China. By doing so, Maris became the first Latvian-born Olympian to ever win a Gold medal - instantly boosting him up to Superhero status in his home country. Four years later, he prolonged his Olympic title by winning the gold medal in the 2012 London Olympic games - completely dominating the main event, and doing a great job of holding off Sam Willoughby for the win. Upon returning from the 2012 Olympics, Strombergs was greeted by thousands of fans in his hometown Valmiera - and whenever he visits back home in Latvia, he is a huge recognizable, sports celebrity.
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I started racing BMX in the mid 1970's in the St. Louis area. I continued to race through the 1980's and stopped racing once I began my career. I did return to racing in 2005, but have since retired. I received my Bachelor's Degree in Recreation and my Master's Degree in Sports Management; both from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. I began my career in public parks and recreation and later moved on to campus recreation. From there I moved into athletics administration and eventually became a college athletic director. I left the sports world in 2007 for a short time before going to work for USA Cycling. I was with USA Cycling for two years before joining the American Bicycle Association in 2009. I remained there through 2017 as the Chief Marketing Officer and Director of New Track Development. I operate Grand Valley BMX in Grand Junction, Colorado. My family and I have operated the track since 2006 and have been a Top 10 track since 2008. Additionally, I became a certified USA BMX Coach in 2014. I enjoy teaching kids of all ages and enjoy attracting new riders to the sport. I can attribute much of my success to the lessons I learned on a BMX track and enjoy giving others the same opportunity. I have worked with numerous athletes, was the manager for the Team USA World's Team in Medellin, Colombia in 2015 and am also an Elite National BMX Commissaire. I believe in the fundamentals of sport and believe that to be successful in any sport you must have a strong fundamental base. While training and fundamentals are a key to success, you also have to mix in a little fun. I enjoy the many aspects of coaching and working with kids and adults of all ages on improving their skills.
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(From the 2010 NATIONAL BMX HALL OF FAME Ceremnoy) Few industries have a person so well known and respected that one name suffices in identifying them. In the music biz, there's Bono, Cher and Madonna. And in BMX, we have "gOrk." (usually spelled with a small "g," and capital 'O.") As someone who has raced since 1976 - at age 13, on both the local and national level (UBR National No.1 sidehack three years running), rode-in and promoted freestyle shows in its infancy, worked in the warehouse at CW Racing, and served as Editor of both the iconic BMX ACTION and ABA`s BMXer Magazines, before becoming marketing director of Redline BIcycles for 11 years - it's safe to say that gOrk has made his mark on nearly every era of our sport It was during the 90's - with the ABA, when he began doodling the characters known as Juan Hander & Noah Footer - which are currently in the process of being scanned an retouched for a series of books. In 1999, after 10 years with ABA, gOrk moved to the Pacific Northwest to join Seattle Bike Supply as the Director of Marketing for their flagship brand, Redline Bicycles. It was there, with the red, white and black that he assembled some of the greatest Redline riders in the brand's history - from Bubba Harris to Kim Hayashi, to Sam Willoughby, Alise Post and Jason Carne$. In 2011, gOrk returned to Arizona to work for USA BMX as their Chief Communications Officer, where he is managing editor of PULL and in charge of all social media and website communication with the members of USA BMX.
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The name's Juan Hander - and if you've been racing since the 90's, you might know me. My buddy Noah - a former Pro champion, and I used to have our own monthly feature in American BMXer magazine (which later became the BMXer). Yup ... we had some crazy times back then. After fading from the spotlight during the 00's, me 'n Noah are still at it - racing locals and the occasional State race. In fact, I recently went thru the USA BMX Coaching Certification and am now a Licensed USA BMX Coach. I've got the card to prove it! So .. if you really suck at racing, like I once did, and want to get better - be sure to look me up.
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