Sarah Hammer
Height: 5-7
Weight: 135 lbs
Place of Birth: Redondo Beach, Calif.
Residence: Temecula, Calif.
Pro Team/Sponsors: OUCH Pro Cycling Team (USA)
Education: Palomar College
Website/Blog: www.sarahhammer.us
Personal
One of the most remarkable American track cycling careers almost never took place after Sarah Hammer quit the sport in 2003. But after watching the 2004 Olympic Games on television, the successful junior racer returned to the sport at the age of 20 with a renewed sense of motivation. Since Sarah's brief hiatus, she's captured two consecutive world titles in the women's individual pursuit (2006, '07), won seven UCI World Cup gold medals, and has broken the national record four times. She enters the Beijing Games as one of the favorites to claim a gold medal.
Introduced to the sport by her father Cliff when she was eight years old, Hammer won her first junior national title in 1995 - the same year Rebecca Twigg won a world championship in the individual pursuit. Eleven years later, Hammer became the first American woman since Twigg to capture a world title with a rainbow jersey of her own.
Burned out from the rigors of competitive cycling, Sarah gave up the sport after just two years as an elite rider. Not intending to return, she sold most of her equipment, went to school and worked various odd jobs. However during the 2004 Athens Games, Sarah was inspired to make a comeback after watching her teammates and competitors race on the sport's biggest stage. Later that year, Sarah got back on the bike and has been a force on both the domestic and international circuit ever since.
Point of Interest
- Sarah founded the American Women's Track Cycling Fund in 2006 to support, mentor, equip and finance the efforts of future cyclists.
- Sarah broke an 11-year-old national record in the women's 3-kilometer individual pursuit in 2006 with a time of 3:32.865. Since then she's lowered the mark four times, most recently with a time of 3:30.213
- With her world title in 2007, Sarah was the first U.S. woman to win back-to-back world titles in 20 years.
