Sheila Young
Encyclopedia
Sheila Grace Young-Ochowicz (born 14 October 1950 in Birmingham, Michigan
) is a former speed skater
and track cyclist
from the United States
.
where she graduated from Denby High School
in 1968. Young was a member of Wolverine Sports Club in the metropolitan Detroit
area, which has produced three Olympic medalists since 1972. Their sports: cycling
, long-track speed skating
, and short-track speed skating. Both her parents had competed in cycling and speed skating and they encouraged Young and her three siblings to do the same. Young's brother Roger also gained fame as a cyclist, winning seven national championships, gold at the 1975 Pan American Games
in the team pursuit, and competing at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics.
On the eve of the 1976 Winter Olympics
, Young announced her engagement to Jim Ochowicz
, a fellow cyclist. Ochowicz competed at the same two Summer Olympics (1972
and 1976
) as Young's brother Roger, but in different cycling events – Ochowicz in the 4 km team pursuit, Roger Young in the sprint.
Young had her best year in 1976, when she won three Olympic speed skating medals (one of each colour), bronze at the world allround speed skating championships
, became world sprint speed skating champion
, skated three world records, became United States sprint track cycling champion, and became the world track cycling sprint champion.
Young retired from cycling and speed skating, and she and Jim worked for the Lake Placid
Olympic Committee. They started a family and moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin
. In 1981, at age 31, she came out of retirement, won two more cycling championships, and then retired again in 1982.
Her three Olympic medals in 1976 made her the first United States athlete to win three medals at one Winter Olympics. Her world sprint speed skating championships in 1973 made her the first United States female athlete to accomplish that feat. Her world sprint speed skating championship of 1973 and her world sprint track cycling championship of that same year made her the first athlete to win World championships in two sports in the same year. The United States Olympic Committee named her Sportswoman of the Year in 1976 and 1981 for her accomplishments in both cycling and speed skating. She was inducted in the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1981, the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame
in 1988, and the National Speedskating Hall of Fame in 1991.
Jim and Sheila Ochowicz live in Palo Alto, California
and have three children; Alex, Elli, and Kate. Their daughter Elli Ochowicz
is also a speed skater. Elli competed at the Winter Olympics in 2002, 2006 and 2010. Sheila is now a teacher in physical education
at La Entrada Middle School
.
in Sapporo
and saw her roommates Anne Henning
and Dianne Holum
win Olympic gold (Henning on the 500 m, as well as bronze on the 1,000 m, and Holum on the 1,500 m, as well as silver on the 3,000 m) – she herself finished fourth on the 500 m and seventeenth on the 1,000 m. In 1973, she became World Sprint Champion
(a feat she would repeat in 1975 and 1976) and she skated two world records that year, becoming the first woman to skate the 500 m in less than 42 seconds. In 1975, she won bronze at the World Allround Championships
(a feat she would repeat in 1976).
In 1976, just before the Winter Olympics, she became the first woman to skate the 500 m in less than 41 seconds. At the 1976 Winter Olympics
in Innsbruck
, Young won three medals – gold on the 500 m (setting a new Olympic record), silver on the 1,500 m, and bronze on the 1,000 m. That same year, after the Winter Olympics, she would skate two more world records before retiring from speed skating. She briefly came out of retirement, participating in the World Sprint Championships in 1981 (finishing seventh) and 1982 (finishing thirteenth).
, she won bronze in 1972, silver in 1982, and she became World sprint champion three times – in 1973 (breaking the Soviet Union
's 15-year winning streak), 1976, and 1981. She had originally retired in 1976, but came out of retirement in 1981 to win one more United States sprint championship and beat her future sister-in-law, Connie Paraskevin
to take the gold in the sprint at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships
in 1981, After winning silver at the 1982 world championship she retired again, preferring motherhood over prolonging her sports careers.
Women's cycling was not part of the summer Olympics of 1976. If it had been, Young may have won medals at both the summer Olympics and the winter Olympics in the same year, something that Christa Rothenburger (another world sprint champion in both speed skating and track cycling – although not, unlike Young, world champion in both sports in the same year) would achieve in 1988.
Birmingham, Michigan
Birmingham is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan and an affluent suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103...
) is a former speed skater
Speed skating
Speed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...
and track cyclist
Track cycling
Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using track bicycles....
from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Short biography
Young and her family moved to Detroit, MichiganDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
where she graduated from Denby High School
Denby High School
Edwin C. Denby High School is a public secondary education facility in Detroit, Michigan.Denby opened in 1930 and the building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2005....
in 1968. Young was a member of Wolverine Sports Club in the metropolitan Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
area, which has produced three Olympic medalists since 1972. Their sports: cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
, long-track speed skating
Speed skating
Speed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...
, and short-track speed skating. Both her parents had competed in cycling and speed skating and they encouraged Young and her three siblings to do the same. Young's brother Roger also gained fame as a cyclist, winning seven national championships, gold at the 1975 Pan American Games
Pan American Games
The Pan-American or Pan American Games are a major event in the Americas featuring summer and formerly winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Pan American Games are the second largest multi-sport event after the Summer Olympics...
in the team pursuit, and competing at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics.
On the eve of the 1976 Winter Olympics
1976 Winter Olympics
The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated February 4–15, 1976 in Innsbruck, Austria...
, Young announced her engagement to Jim Ochowicz
Jim Ochowicz
Jim Ochowicz is a former Olympic bicyclist and manager of the BMC Racing Team. He was inducted into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1977 as a contributor to the sport of cycling....
, a fellow cyclist. Ochowicz competed at the same two Summer Olympics (1972
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
and 1976
1976 Summer Olympics
The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...
) as Young's brother Roger, but in different cycling events – Ochowicz in the 4 km team pursuit, Roger Young in the sprint.
Young had her best year in 1976, when she won three Olympic speed skating medals (one of each colour), bronze at the world allround speed skating championships
World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Women
The International Skating Union has organised the World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Women since 1936. Unofficial Championships were held in the years 1933-1935.-Distances used:...
, became world sprint speed skating champion
World Sprint Speed Skating Championships
The World Sprint Speed Skating Championships are annual speed skating championships. The championships are held over a two day period, with the skaters racing one 500 m and one 1,000 m each day...
, skated three world records, became United States sprint track cycling champion, and became the world track cycling sprint champion.
Young retired from cycling and speed skating, and she and Jim worked for the Lake Placid
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....
Olympic Committee. They started a family and moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. In 1981, at age 31, she came out of retirement, won two more cycling championships, and then retired again in 1982.
Her three Olympic medals in 1976 made her the first United States athlete to win three medals at one Winter Olympics. Her world sprint speed skating championships in 1973 made her the first United States female athlete to accomplish that feat. Her world sprint speed skating championship of 1973 and her world sprint track cycling championship of that same year made her the first athlete to win World championships in two sports in the same year. The United States Olympic Committee named her Sportswoman of the Year in 1976 and 1981 for her accomplishments in both cycling and speed skating. She was inducted in the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1981, the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame
United States Bicycling Hall of Fame
The United States Bicycling Hall of Fame, located in Davis, California, is a private organization formed to preserve and promote the sport of cycling.-Location:...
in 1988, and the National Speedskating Hall of Fame in 1991.
Jim and Sheila Ochowicz live in Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
and have three children; Alex, Elli, and Kate. Their daughter Elli Ochowicz
Elli Ochowicz
Elli Ochowicz is an Olympic speed skater who has competed in the three Winter Olympics.Ochowicz was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, to Jim Ochowicz and Sheila Young. After beginning her training in the Milwaukee area, she moved to Salt Lake City to continue training...
is also a speed skater. Elli competed at the Winter Olympics in 2002, 2006 and 2010. Sheila is now a teacher in physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
at La Entrada Middle School
La Entrada Middle School
La Entrada Middle School is part of Las Lomitas Elementary School District and teaches grades 4–8. K–3, however, are taught by Las Lomitas Elementary School...
.
Medals
An overview of medals won by Young at important championships, listing the years in which she won each:| Championships | Gold medal | Silver medal | Bronze medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed skating Speed skating Speed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating... |
|||
| Winter Olympics Speed skating at the Winter Olympics Speed skating has been featured as a sport in the Winter Olympics since the first winter games in 1924. Women's events were added to the Olympic program for the first time in 1960.-History:... |
1976 (500 m) | 1976 (1,500 m) | 1976 (1,000 m) |
| World Allround World Allround Speed Skating Championships The World Allround Speed Skating Championships are a series of speed skating events held annually to determine the best allround speed skater of the world... |
– | – | 1975 1976 |
| World Sprint World Sprint Speed Skating Championships The World Sprint Speed Skating Championships are annual speed skating championships. The championships are held over a two day period, with the skaters racing one 500 m and one 1,000 m each day... |
1973 1975 1976 |
– | – |
| Track cycling Track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using track bicycles.... |
|||
| World Sprint World Championship of Track Cycling (women) The women's UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the world championship events for track cycling and are administered by the Union Cycliste Internationale, the governing body for sport cycling worldwide. The world championships are held annually at various locations around the world. Track... |
1973 1976 1981 |
1982 | 1972 |
| United States Sprint | 1971 1973 1976 1981 |
? | ? |
Speed skating
Young competed at the 1972 Winter Olympics1972 Winter Olympics
The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated from February 3 to February 13, 1972 in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan...
in Sapporo
Sapporo, Hokkaido
is the fourth-largest city in Japan by population, and the largest city on the island of Hokkaido. It is the capital of Hokkaidō Prefecture, located in Ishikari Subprefecture, and an ordinance-designated city of Japan....
and saw her roommates Anne Henning
Anne Henning
Anne Elizabeth Henning is a former speed skater from the United States.Anne Henning grew up in Northbrook, Illinois and started in short track speed skating, but then, like many short track speed skaters before and after her, switched to long track speed skating...
and Dianne Holum
Dianne Holum
Dianne Mary Holum is a former speed skater.In 1967, at the age of 15, Dianne Holum won bronze at the World Allround Championships. At the age of 16, Holum earned a silver medal in the 500 meter race at the 1968 Winter Olympics, finishing in a three way tie for second place...
win Olympic gold (Henning on the 500 m, as well as bronze on the 1,000 m, and Holum on the 1,500 m, as well as silver on the 3,000 m) – she herself finished fourth on the 500 m and seventeenth on the 1,000 m. In 1973, she became World Sprint Champion
World Sprint Speed Skating Championships
The World Sprint Speed Skating Championships are annual speed skating championships. The championships are held over a two day period, with the skaters racing one 500 m and one 1,000 m each day...
(a feat she would repeat in 1975 and 1976) and she skated two world records that year, becoming the first woman to skate the 500 m in less than 42 seconds. In 1975, she won bronze at the World Allround Championships
World Allround Speed Skating Championships
The World Allround Speed Skating Championships are a series of speed skating events held annually to determine the best allround speed skater of the world...
(a feat she would repeat in 1976).
In 1976, just before the Winter Olympics, she became the first woman to skate the 500 m in less than 41 seconds. At the 1976 Winter Olympics
1976 Winter Olympics
The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated February 4–15, 1976 in Innsbruck, Austria...
in Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
, Young won three medals – gold on the 500 m (setting a new Olympic record), silver on the 1,500 m, and bronze on the 1,000 m. That same year, after the Winter Olympics, she would skate two more world records before retiring from speed skating. She briefly came out of retirement, participating in the World Sprint Championships in 1981 (finishing seventh) and 1982 (finishing thirteenth).
World records
Over the course of her career, Young skated five world records:| Event | Result | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 m | 41.8 | 19 January 1973 | Davos Eisstadion Davos Vaillant Arena is an arena in Davos, Switzerland. It is primarily used for ice hockey and is the home arena of HC Davos. It holds 7,080 people, of which 3,280 are seated... |
| Sprint combination Samalog Samalog is a scoring system in speed skating. It is used in allround tournaments to convert results at various distances into points in order to determine an overall champion... |
173.450 | 20 January 1973 | Davos Eisstadion Davos Vaillant Arena is an arena in Davos, Switzerland. It is primarily used for ice hockey and is the home arena of HC Davos. It holds 7,080 people, of which 3,280 are seated... |
| 500 m | 40.91 | 31 January 1976 | Davos Eisstadion Davos Vaillant Arena is an arena in Davos, Switzerland. It is primarily used for ice hockey and is the home arena of HC Davos. It holds 7,080 people, of which 3,280 are seated... |
| 500 m | 40.68 | 13 March 1976 | Inzell Eisstadion Inzell Eisstadion Inzell is a stadium located in Inzell, Germany, best known as a speed skating venue. It is an outdoor, artificial ice, rink, located 690 metres above sea level and has a capacity of 20,000 people... |
| Sprint combination Samalog Samalog is a scoring system in speed skating. It is used in allround tournaments to convert results at various distances into points in order to determine an overall champion... |
166.210 | 13 March 1976 | Inzell Eisstadion Inzell Eisstadion Inzell is a stadium located in Inzell, Germany, best known as a speed skating venue. It is an outdoor, artificial ice, rink, located 690 metres above sea level and has a capacity of 20,000 people... |
Personal records
To put these personal records in perspective, the WR column lists the official world records on the dates that Young skated her personal records.| Event | Result | Date | Venue | WR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 m | 40.68 | 13 March 1976 | Inzell Eisstadion Inzell Eisstadion Inzell is a stadium located in Inzell, Germany, best known as a speed skating venue. It is an outdoor, artificial ice, rink, located 690 metres above sea level and has a capacity of 20,000 people... |
40.91 |
| 1,000 m | 1:24.38 | 13 March 1976 | Inzell Eisstadion Inzell Eisstadion Inzell is a stadium located in Inzell, Germany, best known as a speed skating venue. It is an outdoor, artificial ice, rink, located 690 metres above sea level and has a capacity of 20,000 people... |
1:23.46 |
| 1,500 m | 2:14.68 | 31 January 1976 | Davos Eisstadion Davos Vaillant Arena is an arena in Davos, Switzerland. It is primarily used for ice hockey and is the home arena of HC Davos. It holds 7,080 people, of which 3,280 are seated... |
2:09.90 |
| 3,000 m | 5:02.88 | 26 January 1976 | Madonna di Campiglio Madonna di Campiglio Madonna di Campiglio is a village and a ski resort in northeast Italy. It is a frazione of the comune of Pinzolo. The village lies in the Val Rendena at an altitude of 1,522 m... |
4:44.69 |
Track cycling
Young was United States sprint champion four times (1971, 1973, 1976, and 1981). At the UCI Track Cycling World ChampionshipsUCI Track Cycling World Championships
The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling and are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale...
, she won bronze in 1972, silver in 1982, and she became World sprint champion three times – in 1973 (breaking the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
's 15-year winning streak), 1976, and 1981. She had originally retired in 1976, but came out of retirement in 1981 to win one more United States sprint championship and beat her future sister-in-law, Connie Paraskevin
Connie Paraskevin
Constance Anne Paraskevin, known as Connie is a retired American professional track cyclist and speed skater...
to take the gold in the sprint at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships
UCI Track Cycling World Championships
The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling and are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale...
in 1981, After winning silver at the 1982 world championship she retired again, preferring motherhood over prolonging her sports careers.
Women's cycling was not part of the summer Olympics of 1976. If it had been, Young may have won medals at both the summer Olympics and the winter Olympics in the same year, something that Christa Rothenburger (another world sprint champion in both speed skating and track cycling – although not, unlike Young, world champion in both sports in the same year) would achieve in 1988.