Susan DeMattei (born October 15, 1962) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former professional cross-country mountain bike racer. She became the first American woman to win an

Olympic medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid o ...

in mountain biking when she won the Bronze Medal in the inaugural Olympic Cross-Country

Mountain Biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

competition at the 1996 Olympic Games in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. DeMattei was inducted into the

Mountain Bike Hall of Fame The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame (MBHOF) was founded in 1988 to chronicle the history of mountain biking. Formerly located in Crested Butte, Colorado, it relocated to Fairfax, California in 2014 and became part of the Marin Museum of Bicycling. Si ...

in 1997 and, into the

United States Bicycling Hall of Fame The United States Bicycling Hall of Fame, located in Davis, California, is a private 501c3 non-profit organization formed to preserve and promote the sport of cycling. The organization was founded in 1986 in Somerville, New Jersey and has inducte ...

in 2012.

Bicycle racing career

Born in

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

, DeMattei grew up in

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), ...

. She first became interested in cycling while attending

California State University, Chico California State University, Chico, or commonly, Chico State, is a public university in Chico, California. Founded in 1887, it is the second oldest campus in the California State University system. As of the fall 2020 semester, the university had ...

, where she was pursuing her nursing degree. She began as a recreational road cyclist before taking up

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

racing. DeMattei was a talented climber, and almost immediately after taking up cycling, she was setting local road hillclimb records with times out of reach of most of the male competitors. She tried her hand at mountain bike racing, to even greater success, and was quickly signed to a professional contract by the

Diamondback Diamondback may refer to: Animals * ''Crotalus adamanteus'', the eastern diamondback rattlesnake * ''Crotalus atrox'', the western diamondback rattlesnake * Diamondback moth, a European moth that has spread to North America * Diamondback terrapin ...

racing team. From 1990 through 1996, DeMattei finished in the top three in the

NORBA Norba, an ancient town of Latium (''Adjectum''), Italy. It is situated 1 mile northwest of the modern town of Norma, on the western edge of the Volscian Mountains or Monti Lepini. The town is perched above a precipitous cliff with a splendid v ...

Championship Series every year but one. DeMattei won the silver medal in the cross-country class at the 1994 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Vail, Colorado.

Later life

DeMattei married former professional mountain bike racer and teammate,

Dave Wiens David Wiens is an American former professional cross-country mountain bike racer. He is known for his six consecutive wins in the Leadville Trail 100 MTB mountain bike race including defeating Tour de France riders Floyd Landis and Lance Armst ...

. She currently resides in Gunnison,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

where she works in the surgical unit of a local hospital.

Races and results

References

External links

Susan DeMattei at the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame

Susan DeMattei at the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Demattei, Susan 1962 births Living people Sportspeople from San Rafael, California People from Gunnison, Colorado American people of Italian descent American female cyclists American women nurses Cyclists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in cycling Cross-country mountain bikers Place of birth missing (living people) California State University, Chico alumni Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics American mountain bikers 21st-century American women