Beth Heiden-Reid
As a competitor in speed skating, cycling, track and cross-country
skiing, Heiden is among the most prolific women athletes in U.S.
history. As a speed skater, she stands as the most successful U.S.
women's all-around skater ever, winning all four individual races on
the way to the overall title in the 1979 World All-around
Championships, and adding to that a silver in 1980. She skated on the
1976 and 1980 Olympic teams, winning bronze in the 3000 meters in Lake
Placid. She was a member of eight U.S. Senior World speed skating teams
and four U.S. Junior World teams, winning many single-event medals in
addition to the 1979 overall title. In bicycling she is one of only two
U.S. women to ever win the World Road Championship, taking gold in
Sallanches, France in 1980 as the culmination of a career that included
four U.S. National titles. In cross country skiing she won the NCAA
championship for the University of Vermont in 1983, along with the NCAA
College Athletics award as one of the top five student athletes in the
U.S.