Wendy Louise Houvenaghel (née McLean; born 27 November 1974) is a

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

former

racing cyclist Cycle sport is 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 cycling s ...

from

Upperlands Upperlands (Toner, Gregory: ''Place-Names of Northern Ireland''. Queen's University of Belfast, 1996, ) is a small village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is situated 3 miles north east of Maghera. It lies within the civil parish of M ...

, County Londonderry,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, riding on both the road and track, but specialising in the latter. She has represented Great Britain in various

World Cycling Championships The UCI world championships are annual competitions promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to determine world champion cyclists. They are held in several different styles of racing, in a different country each year. Championship winne ...

and in the 2008 Olympic Games, most notably winning the silver medal at the Beijing Olympic Games, and gold in the

team pursuit The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. Race format Both men's and women's events are competed over ...

at the 2008, 2009 and 2011 Track World Championships. She has also won many British national titles and represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and

at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...

. Houvenaghel is based in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, England.

Early life

Houvenaghel grew up in Upperlands near

Maghera Maghera (pronounced , ) is a small town at the foot of the Glenshane Pass in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Its population was 4,220 in the 2011 Census, increasing from 3,711 in the 2001 Census. It is situated within Mid-Ulster Distri ...

. She went to Ampertaine County Primary School in Upperlands and Rainey Endowed Grammar School in

Magherafelt Magherafelt (, �mˠaxəɾʲəˈfʲiːlt̪ˠə is a small town and civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,805 at the 2011 Census. It is the biggest town in the south of the county and is the social, econo ...

. She studied dentistry at the

University of Dundee , mottoeng = "My soul doth magnify the Lord" , established = 1967 – gained independent university status by Royal Charter1897 – Constituent college of the University of St Andrews1881 – University College , ...

, where she met her husband. After qualifying, she became a dentist in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, commissioned as a Flight Lieutenant on a Short Service Commission on 6 August 1998, and promoted to Squadron Leader on 6 August 2003. Completing her commission in August 2004, Houvenaghel took up a part-time post at a local dental surgery to help fund her ambitions as a cyclist. She was fast-tracked onto the Olympic Podium Plan by the British Cycling Federation in June 2006, with the aim of winning a medal at the Beijing Olympic Games in August 2008.

Career

Houvenaghel took part in a cycling time trial in September 2002, with no cycling experience and became the National Circuit Time Trial Champion the following year. She was selected for the GB National squad in 2003 to compete at the World Time Trial Championships in Canada. Prior to this, she had competed in

time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

s within the UK for the amateur club Camel Valley. She continued her collection of National time trial titles in 2004, going on to win all British time-trials that she competed in during 2005, and continued in her success throughout 2006. In October 2005, Houvenaghel won her first 3 km Individual Pursuit National Track title which was soon followed up by two World Cup wins, aged 31. Houvenaghel was talent spotted by British Cycling and after physiological testing was fast tracked onto the Olympic Podium Programme tasked with winning a medal at the Beijing Olympic Games within a 2-year time frame. Focusing on the track, she became the overall World Cup Champion in 2005/6 and made her GB World Track Championships debut in Bordeaux, ranking 5th. She competed for England on both the track and the road at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

after being turned down for the Northern Ireland team by the British Cycling Federation. She retained her 3 km Individual Pursuit National title in 2006, and World Cup Champions title in 2006/7. She went one better to finish fourth in the 2007 World Championships, the following year in Majorca. Just prior to 2008 season, Houvenaghel declared that her focus would be on the 3 km Pursuit Track World Championships and 2008 Olympic Games. During the Track World Championships in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, after inconsistent winter training, she was a part of the gold medal-winning women's Team Pursuit. Having also set a personal best, ranking 4th in the Individual Pursuit, her potential to participate successfully at the Olympic Games was evident. On 15 August 2008 Houvenaghel qualified fastest in the qualification round of the Women's 3000m pursuit at the Beijing Olympics and went on to win the silver medal in the final, losing out on the gold to her teammate by 2 seconds. She won silver again in the same event at the 2009 Track World Championships in Poland, losing the final by 2 seconds after beating her opponent in the qualifying heats. She retained her World Championship title in the Women's Team Pursuit by qualifying fastest during the qualification ride and winning the final. The Individual Pursuit was not included in the Olympic Games in London in 2012, a decision which was ratified by the IOC and UCI mid December 2009. Having become the World Championship and Commonwealth Games Silver Medallist in 2010, the Individual Pursuit National Champion turned her focus and attention to the Team Pursuit Olympic event for the 2010/11 and 2011/12 track seasons. Houvenaghel was a member of the British Team Pursuit team that won the European and World Championship Titles in the 2010/11 track season, finishing the season ranked as World Number One in the UCI World rankings in Dec 2011. Houvenaghel's 2011 World Championship title took her total to three in the discipline of Team Pursuiting. Despite being a pivotal member of the Team Pursuit Olympic Qualification campaign, Houvenaghel was omitted from selection for racing this event at both the 2012 World Championships in Melbourne and Olympic Games in London. She was however, permitted to race the Individual Pursuit in Melbourne, earning a silver medal. Houvenaghel had her most successful road campaign in 2012 winning her 4th British National Time Trial title as well as winning the Celtic Chrono and Chrono Champenois International Time Trials. Her performances on the road warranted her selection to compete at the Road World Championships in the Netherlands. Houvenaghel announced her retirement from the sport on the eve of the 2014 Commonwealth Games after sustaining a back injury in training, forcing her to withdraw from the competition. Houvenaghel won three World Championships competing for Great Britain in the Team Pursuit event and an Olympic silver medal in 2008 in Beijing in the Individual Pursuit. She was also a multiple European and National Champion. In 2017 Houvenaghel had accused

British Cycling British Cycling (formerly the British Cycling Federation) is the main national governing body for cycle sport in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It represents Bri ...

of ageism and 'win-at-all-cost' culture.

Palmarès

;2003 :Gold British National Time Trial Circuit Championships ;2004 :Gold British National 10 mile Time Trial :Silver British National 25 mile Time Trial :Silver British National Time Trial Circuit Championships ;2005 :Gold British National 10 mile Time Trial :Gold British National 25 mile Time Trial :Bronze UCI 1.1 Chrono Champenois Time Trial, France :Gold British National Track Championships 3 km Pursuit :UCI Track World Cup Series Champion 3 km Pursuit 2005/6 ::Gold Sydney Round ::Silver Moscow Round ;2006 :6th Commonwealth Games Time Trial, Melbourne :14th Commonwealth Games Road Race, Melbourne :5th UCI Track World Championships debut Bordeaux :Gold British National 10 mile time trial :Gold British National 25 mile time trial :Silver British National Time Trial Circuit Championships :4th UCI 1.1 Chrono Champenois Time Trial, France :Gold British National Track Championships 3 km Pursuit :UCI Track World Cup Series Champion 3 km Pursuit 2006/7 ::Gold Moscow Round ::Silver Sydney Round ;2007 :4th UCI World Track Cycling Championships 3 km Pursuit Palma :Gold British National Time Trial Circuit Championships :NATIONAL RECORD 10 mile Time Trial ;2008 (

Team Halfords Bikehut Team Halfords Bikehut was a 2008 UCI elite women's cycling team based in the United Kingdom. The team was formed in January 2008 with Dave Brailsford, performance director of British Cycling, the general manager. It had been a pro/national team ...

) :Gold

2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championship for track cycling. They took place at the Manchester Velodrome in Manchester, United Kingdom from 26 to 30 March 2008. Eighteen events were scheduled; the women's team pur ...

Team Pursuit The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. Race format Both men's and women's events are competed over ...

Manchester :4th

, 3 km Pursuit Manchester :Silver Silver medal olympic

2008 Olympic Games 3 km Pursuit Beijing China :Gold UCI World Cup Manchester 3 km Individual Pursuit TRACK RECORD ;2009 :Gold UCI Track Cycling World Championships,

Poland :Silver UCI Track Cycling World Championships, 3 km Pursuit Poland :Silver British National Circuit Time Trial Championships :Gold UCI 1.1 Chrono Champenois Time Trial, France :Gold UCI Track World Cup 3 km Pursuit, Manchester :Gold UCI Track World Cup Team Pursuit, Manchester, World record :Gold UCI Track World Cup 3 km Pursuit, Melbourne :Silver UCI Track World Cup Team Pursuit, Melbourne ;2010 :Gold UCI Track World Cup 3 km Pursuit, Beijing :Silver UCI Track Cycling World Championships

, Copenhagen :Silver UCI Track Cycling World Championships 3km Pursuit, Copenhagen :Bronze British National Circuit Time Trial Championships :4th UCI 1.1 Chrono Champenois Time Trial, France :Gold National Track Championships 3 km Pursuit, Manchester :Silver Commonwealth Games 3 km Pursuit, India :6th Commonwealth Games Time Trial, India :Gold European Track Championships Team Pursuit, Poland :Silver UCI Track World Cup 3 km Pursuit, Colombia :Bronze UCI Track World Cup Team Pursuit, Colombia ;2011 :Gold UCI Track World Cup Team Pursuit, Manchester :Gold UCI Track Cycling World Championships

, Apeldoorn :NATIONAL RECORD 25 Mile Time Trial :Gold British National Circuit Time Trial Championships :Bronze UCI 1.1 Chrono Champenois Time Trial, France :Bronze British National Track Championships 3 km Pursuit, Manchester :Silver UCI Track World Cup 3 km Pursuit, Colombia :Gold UCI Track World Cup Team Pursuit, Colombia :1st Team pursuit, 2010–11 UCI Track Cycling World Ranking ;2012 :Gold UCI Track World Cup Team Pursuit, London :Silve UCI Track Cycling World Championships 3 km Pursuit, Melbourne :Gold UCI 1.2 Celtic Chrono Time Trial, Belfast, N Ireland :Gold British National Circuit Time Trial Championships :Gold UCI 1.1 Chrono Champenois Time Trial, France :Silver Duo Normande Time Trial, France (with WO1 Sean Childs RNRMCA)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houvenaghel, Wendy 1974 births Living people British female cyclists Cyclists from Northern Ireland Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists of Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Commonwealth Games competitors for England Cyclists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games UCI Track Cycling World Champions (women) Royal Air Force officers Women in the Royal Air Force People from County Londonderry Alumni of the University of Dundee People educated at Rainey Endowed School Olympic medalists in cycling Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Northern Ireland Cyclists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics British dentists Commonwealth Games medallists in cycling British track cyclists