Karissa Whitsell (born June 15, 1981) is an accomplished

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 ...

blind

cyclist Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

. Whitsell, with her tandem partner

Katie Compton Katie Compton (born December 3, 1978) is an American former bicycle racer. She specialized in cyclo-cross racing and is a 15-time national champion. Compton formerly piloted a tandem with a blind partner in Paralympic events. She has won the ...

, won four medals at the 2004 ΧΙΙ Paralympic Games in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

. They won a gold medal in the road race/time trial event, another gold in the 3 km individual pursuit, a silver in the 1 km

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 ...

, and a bronze in the sprint. Whitsell won a gold medal in the

, a silver medal in the road race, and a bronze medal in the individual pursuit event in the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was f ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

References

External links

* * * * * 1981 births Living people American female cyclists American blind people Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Paralympic cyclists for the United States Paralympic gold medalists for the United States Paralympic silver medalists for the United States Paralympic bronze medalists for the United States Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Place of birth missing (living people) Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in cycling Medalists at the 2011 Parapan American Games 21st-century American women {{US-Paralympic-medalist-stub