Karen Brems Kurreck (born June 13, 1962 in

Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 38th-most pop ...

) is a graduate of Urbana High School and the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

. As a

racing cyclist Cycle sport is Competition, competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing ...

, she is best known for winning the inaugural women's individual time trial at the

1994 UCI Road World Championships The 1994 UCI Road World Championships took place in Agrigento, Italy between 21-28 August 1994. Events summary References {{UCI Road World Championships UCI Road World Championships by year World Championships Uci Road World Championshi ...

Catania, Italy Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

. Kurreck represented the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

. Prior to her cycling career, Brems was a collegiate gymnast at the

where in 1984 she became the first Illini athlete to be named as the school’s Athlete of the Year and the Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor Award winner in the same season. Since 2011, Brems has concentrated on the Cyclocross discipline. She won two consecutive 50+ Masters World Championships in 2012 and 2013, and several Masters 50+ championship jerseys at US Cross Nationals including: in 2013 (Master 50-54) in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

; in 2015 (Master 50-54) in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

; in 2016 (Master 50-54) in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

; and in 2018 (Master 55-59) in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

References

* * 1962 births Living people American female cyclists Cyclists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists of the United States People from Urbana, Illinois UCI Road World Champions (women) 21st-century American women {{US-cycling-bio-stub