Jamie Whitmore Cardenas (born 4 May 1976) is a former American triathlete turned para-cyclist. Whitmore began her sports career competing in the XTERRA Triathlon throughout the 2000s. As a XTERRA triathlete, she won over thirty events and was the XTERRA world champion in 2004. After being diagnosed with

spindle cell sarcoma Spindle cell sarcoma is a type of connective tissue cancer . The tumors generally begin in layers of connective tissue, as found under the skin, between muscles, and surrounding organs, and will generally start as a small, inflamed lump, which gr ...

in 2008, Whitmore moved to para-cycling in the 2010s and competed in championships held by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Since 2013, Whitmore has won twenty overall medals while competing at the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships and UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships. After breaking the C3 world record in time trial and pursuit at the 2014 para-cycling track championships, Whitmore won gold in the road race and pursuit events at the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

. Apart from her medals, Whitmore was inducted into the XTERRA Hall of Fame in 2012 and was the winner of the Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award in 2014.

Early life and education

Whitmore was born on 4 May 1976 in Sacramento, California. During her childhood, Whitmore played in various sports before she started track and field in middle school. As an athlete, Whitmore went to

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

on a scholarship and completed a criminology degree in 1998.

Career

Triathlon and road para-cycling

After university, Whitmore competed in mountain bike races before settling on triathlon in the early 2000s. As a competitor for XTERRA Triathlon, Whitmore was the world champion in 2004 and won over thirty races including consecutive United States championships from 2002 to 2007 excluding 2006. In 2008, Whitmore was diagnosed with

and became paralyzed in her leg due to drop foot. After her paralysis ended her triathlon career, Whitmore returned to cycling in the 2010s. As a paracyclist, Whitmore began competing in championships held by the Union Cycliste Internationale in 2013. At the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships, Whitmore won back to back gold medals at the time trial and road race events from 2013 to 2015. She later won bronze in both events during the 2018 event. During the 2022 edition, Whitmore won bronze in the road race.

Track para-cycling

Simultaneously, Whitmore started competing at the UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in 2014. At the 2014 event, Whitmore broke the world records in the time trial and pursuit events for the C3 classification while winning her first track gold medals in those events. The following year, Whitmore reclaimed her gold in time trial while adding a silver in pursuit and scratch race. She added a silver in scratch race and bronze in time trial at the 2016 track championship. Whitmore added a gold in time trial and scratch in 2017 with additional bronzes in time trial, pursuit and scratch in 2018. In international events, Whitmore competed at her first Paralympics during the

. As a C1-3 competitor, she won gold in the road race and silver in the 3000 meters individual pursuit. At the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

, Whitmore did not any medals in her events.

Awards and honors

Whitmore was inducted into the XTERRA Hall of Fame in 2012 and won the Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award in 2014. Jamie is a single mother of twin boys.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitmore, Jamie 1976 births American female triathletes Paralympic cyclists for the United States Cyclists at the 2023 Parapan American Games Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Cyclists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for the United States Paralympic silver medalists for the United States Living people Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in cycling Medalists at the 2023 Parapan American Games Sportspeople from Sacramento, California Cyclists from California Cal State Northridge Matadors women's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from Sacramento, California