Cheri Elliott
Encyclopedia
Cheri Elliott was an American
champion female bicycle motocross
(BMX) racer in the 1980s, and a champion Downhill and Slalom mountain bike
racer in the 1990s and early 2000s. During her BMX career, she spent most of her racing career on the national circuit with the Skyway Recreation factory team. She had a relatively short BMX career, but she is a four-time national champion and four-time world champion, including three consecutive National Number One girl-racer titles for the American Bicycle Association
(ABA) from 1983 through 1985. She also held the regional UBR Number one girl racer title in 1982. She was the first female racer inducted into the ABA BMX Hall of Fame in 1989, and the first female BMX racer inducted into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame
in 2008.
Elliott's BMX career lasted from 1980 until 1986, and saw a brief comeback in 1989.
From an early age, she was not only dominant in the girls division of BMX (formerly called "Powder Puff
"), but was also usually competitive with boys in her age group. An athletic strawberry blond with deep dimples when she smiled, Elliott was approximately five feet tall in the seventh grade, making her somewhat larger than most of the boys in her class at Will Rodgers Intermediate Junior High School and the boys at the BMX track.
During her racing career—and while in the sixth grade of junior high school—Elliott was asked to play "first string"' on the varsity
senior high school Basketball
team. She helped that high school team win a championship. She continued pursuing other sports during her BMX career, and after leaving the sport in 1986.
Elliott was named Most Valuable Player
in both basketball and volleyball
during her senior year of high school.
She also played in her college freshman year at the University of the Pacific.
(UBR) "11 Expert" class, complaining that the girls were "too slow". At a 1981 UBR National held in Laguna Seca, California, she raced in the 14-and-over girls' competition, despite being only 11 years old at the time, "because the 12-to-13 is too easy".
UBR rules at the time stated that if a girl raced in the boys' expert classes, she could not race in the girls' class. As a result, she mostly raced in the boys' Expert and Open classes. She also frequently participated in, and sometimes won, the "Trophy Dash"—the final event of a race, in which the winners of two closely related age classes and the three skill classesNovice, Intermediate, and Expert in the ABA; Rookie, Novice, and Expert in the NBL. participate in an exhibition race that has no effect on the rider's yearly ranking. Unlike the UBR and the National Bicycle League
(NBL), the ABA did not allow girls to compete in the boys' Expert Class until 1984. The ABA did allow her to run in the Trophy Dash and 12-and-under Cruiser Class. She often won on the local level, occasionally beating the male Experts—the highest amateur class. In the 1982 ABA Grand National, she placed second in the Cruiser Class, beaten by only Danny Steplight. She also won a few Trophy Dash races on her 20-inch bike at the national level; she won the 11-12 Trophy Dash at the 1983 ABA Cajun Nationals in Shreveport, Louisiana
in January 1983, overpowering 12 Expert winner Jason Griggs, who had dominated his age class throughout 1982 and 1983. She was, at the time, the only girl to win the Trophy Dash at an ABA national that anyone could recall.
Elliott excelled in Quarter Pipe
BMX freestyle trick riding, which at the time was unusual for a girl. She was also one of the few girls at the time who could do a "Table Top", where the rider, after launching herself high into the air off a steep ramp or berm, lays the frame of her bike parallel with the ground and righting the bike again before landing.
Elliott's BMX career was relatively short, lasting only six years. Elliott retired from twenty-inch BMX racing early in the 1986 season, right after the ABA Supernationals (which were held on January 26 and 27). Explaining the reason for her decision, Elliott said "I did all I wanted to do. I wanted to quit last year, but I thought about getting ABA No. 1 two years in a row. And I did it—that was my goal."
(Elliot misspoke about-or BMX Action misprinted-the number of consecutive number-one plates she was going for. It was three years in a row, not two.) She also wanted to pursue and concentrate on scholastic sports, like basketball.
Elliott told BMX Plus!, in their June 1986 issue, that Skyway Recreations, the factory racing team that sponsored her, dropped their racing team after the 1985 racing season. The year 1986 was known to racers as "the year of no sponsorships" because some bicycle manufactures who sponsored racing teams, like Torker
and JMC, went out of business—due, in part, to low cost Asian imports. The teams sponsored by Diamond Back and Redline were pared back, and Skyway dropped their sponsorship altogether, in favor of either creating or expanding BMX Freestyle teams.
Elliott did race in one National in 1986: the ABA Supernationals in late January, where she placed fourth in the 15 & Over Girls class.
As the BMX periodical BMX Action put it, "after being casually released from Skyway, [she] decided it was easier to just quit the sport while on top than shop for a ride."
In 1996, she would co-author a book called The Athlete's Guide to Sponsorship during her subsequent mountain-bike racing career.
She was happy when the NBL's Competition Congress authorized a pro girls' class in late 1984: "I think it's great that they finally passed it... Now girls will have something to stay in the sport for." When the pro Girls' class started at the beginning of the 1985 season, only girls 16 years of age and older qualified to compete in it. Elliott was only 15 years old on April 17, 1985.
As Elliott put it during an interview conducted by her modern day counterpart, professional cyclist Jill Kintner
, on Kintner's blog:
apparently for the fun of it due to her ABA BMX Hall of Fame induction the following November. She probably thought she would be at the ABA Grand Nationals anyway for her acceptance speech, why not race as well? Other reports have it that Elliott was lured out of retirement by the Bicycle Center bicycle shop as a "spoiler
" to better position other Bicycle Center racers to take various titles. Whatever the reason, prior to the Fall Nationals she was seen practicing at the Roseville, California
Oak Creek BMX track. She dominated the 15 & Over girls' class at the Fall Nationals on Saturday. However, she slipped her pedals in the Main and finished in seventh place—last, in this case—in the main. On Sunday, she again came in last (out of six) in the main.
Elliott was on the verge of winning her 15 & Over girls' Main at the 1989 ABA Grand Nationals in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
; however, fate bit her again as it did at the Fall Nationals. She fell doing a trick over a jump. She landed badly, and crashed. The rest of the pack passed her, and her chance of being the Grand National winner went with them. Mapuana Naki won the National number one girl title for 1989. Elliot was not in contention for the title, since she didn't resume racing until October 1989. After racing one or two more times on the national level, Elliott continued her BMX retirement in February 1990.
(MTB) in 1994.
MTB, a sport similar to BMX that uses bicycles with 26-inch wheels similar to the "Cruiser class" bicycles in BMX circa 1980, has courses that are much longer and on steep, downhill slopes, with certain events—especially snow racing—resembling downhill skiing. Races could last up to 10 minutes (compared to BMX's 30 to 40 seconds), with speeds hitting 70 miles per hour (112.7 km/h) (compared to BMX's 25 to 35 mph (40.2 to 56.3 km/h) for Experts and Professionals). In her first year of racing mountain bikes, Elliott became the National Dual Slalom Champion, the first such championship of many.
Over her cycling career, Elliott has won 14 major world and national titles, including four National Off Road Bicycle Association National Championships and two ESPN
X Games
gold medals. However, she did not race in the revived NBL "Supergirls" class, its professional girls' division, when it was recreated in 1997, dedicating her time to Dual Slalom and Downhill MTB.
As she was starting her MTB racing career, she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Business (with Honors), concentrated in Real Estate and Finance, in 1994.
She is also a public speaker, a helmet-safety advocate for children, and co-owns and runs her own sports management company, JED Sports Management.
Burnout played a role in her decision to retire, along with the more pressing question of injury.
A few years after she retired from Mountain Bike competition, she considered another comeback in BMX, despite her career-ending back injury. She contemplated coming out of retirement for the 2008 Summer Olympics
in Beijing, China, where BMX racing was making its Olympic debut:
She chose not return, for health reasons.
(NBA)
National Bicycle League
(NBL)
American Bicycle Association
(ABA)
United Bicycle Racers Association
(UBR)
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)Beginning in 1991, the IBMXF and the FIAC—the amateur cycling arm of the UCI—had been holding joint World Championship events as a transitional phase of their merger, which began in earnest in 1993. Beginning with the 1996 season, the IBMXF and FIAC completed the merger; both ceased to exist as independent entities, being integrated into the UCI. Beginning with the 1996 World Championships held in Brighton, England, the UCI officially holds and sanctions BMX World Championships, and with it inherited all precedents, records, streaks, etc. from both the IBMXF and FIAC.
Other titles
ESPN X-Games
Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)
Bicycles and Dirt:
ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer (The official ABA membership publication under three names):
Mountain Biking:
NORBA News:
Bike Racing Nation: (Official Publication of USA Cycling)
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
champion female bicycle motocross
BMX
Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...
(BMX) racer in the 1980s, and a champion Downhill and Slalom mountain bike
Mountain bike
A mountain bike or mountain bicycle is a bicycle created for off-road cycling. This activity includes traversing of rocks and washouts, and steep declines,...
racer in the 1990s and early 2000s. During her BMX career, she spent most of her racing career on the national circuit with the Skyway Recreation factory team. She had a relatively short BMX career, but she is a four-time national champion and four-time world champion, including three consecutive National Number One girl-racer titles for the American Bicycle Association
American Bicycle Association
The American Bicycle Association is a United States-based Bicycle Motocross sports governing body in Gilbert, Arizona created by Merl Mennenga and Gene Roden in 1977. It is the largest sanctioning body in the United States concerning BMX. It has tracks in Canada and Mexico as well as in the USA...
(ABA) from 1983 through 1985. She also held the regional UBR Number one girl racer title in 1982. She was the first female racer inducted into the ABA BMX Hall of Fame in 1989, and the first female BMX racer inducted into 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 2008.
Biography
Elliott snow-skied when she was two years old.Elliott's BMX career lasted from 1980 until 1986, and saw a brief comeback in 1989.
From an early age, she was not only dominant in the girls division of BMX (formerly called "Powder Puff
Powder Puff
Powderpuff is a reference to the division of a traditionally male sport reserved for females regardless of the age of the participants.Powderpuff football games are an annual tradition at many high schools and universities in the United States and Canada...
"), but was also usually competitive with boys in her age group. An athletic strawberry blond with deep dimples when she smiled, Elliott was approximately five feet tall in the seventh grade, making her somewhat larger than most of the boys in her class at Will Rodgers Intermediate Junior High School and the boys at the BMX track.
During her racing career—and while in the sixth grade of junior high school—Elliott was asked to play "first string"' on the varsity
Varsity team
In the United States and Canada, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of secondary schools, against...
senior high school Basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team. She helped that high school team win a championship. She continued pursuing other sports during her BMX career, and after leaving the sport in 1986.
Elliott was named Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
in both basketball and volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
during her senior year of high school.
She also played in her college freshman year at the University of the Pacific.
BMX racing career
When there weren't enough girls in her age group at a particular BMX race to form out a separate class, she often raced with them, winning "Motos" (the qualifying heats) and "Opens" (the class that was open to both male novices and experts, and where girls were free to race each other). She would frequently make the "Mains"—the race final that would decide the winner for the day—in the boys division. Even when there were enough girls to form a class, she still often participated with the boys in the United Bicycle RacersUnited Bicycle Racers Association
The United Bicycle Racers was a short-lived Bicycle Motocross racing sanctioning body based in Modesto, California which was started by John Valdez, a bike shop owner, on his 18th birthday that lasted from 1977-1983. At its peak it had 34 tracks in California and Nevada...
(UBR) "11 Expert" class, complaining that the girls were "too slow". At a 1981 UBR National held in Laguna Seca, California, she raced in the 14-and-over girls' competition, despite being only 11 years old at the time, "because the 12-to-13 is too easy".
UBR rules at the time stated that if a girl raced in the boys' expert classes, she could not race in the girls' class. As a result, she mostly raced in the boys' Expert and Open classes. She also frequently participated in, and sometimes won, the "Trophy Dash"—the final event of a race, in which the winners of two closely related age classes and the three skill classesNovice, Intermediate, and Expert in the ABA; Rookie, Novice, and Expert in the NBL. participate in an exhibition race that has no effect on the rider's yearly ranking. Unlike the UBR and the National Bicycle League
National Bicycle League
The National Bicycle League is a United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Deerfield Beach, Florida but after several moves it was based in Hilliard, Ohio...
(NBL), the ABA did not allow girls to compete in the boys' Expert Class until 1984. The ABA did allow her to run in the Trophy Dash and 12-and-under Cruiser Class. She often won on the local level, occasionally beating the male Experts—the highest amateur class. In the 1982 ABA Grand National, she placed second in the Cruiser Class, beaten by only Danny Steplight. She also won a few Trophy Dash races on her 20-inch bike at the national level; she won the 11-12 Trophy Dash at the 1983 ABA Cajun Nationals in Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
in January 1983, overpowering 12 Expert winner Jason Griggs, who had dominated his age class throughout 1982 and 1983. She was, at the time, the only girl to win the Trophy Dash at an ABA national that anyone could recall.
Elliott excelled in Quarter Pipe
Quarter pipe
A Quarter pipe is a ramp used in extreme sports which resembles a quarter of the cross section of a pipe. They are most commonly found in skateparks and a skiing/snowboarding terrain park, although the trained eye of an extreme sports fan can find them in modern day architecture...
BMX freestyle trick riding, which at the time was unusual for a girl. She was also one of the few girls at the time who could do a "Table Top", where the rider, after launching herself high into the air off a steep ramp or berm, lays the frame of her bike parallel with the ground and righting the bike again before landing.
Elliott's BMX career was relatively short, lasting only six years. Elliott retired from twenty-inch BMX racing early in the 1986 season, right after the ABA Supernationals (which were held on January 26 and 27). Explaining the reason for her decision, Elliott said "I did all I wanted to do. I wanted to quit last year, but I thought about getting ABA No. 1 two years in a row. And I did it—that was my goal."
(Elliot misspoke about-or BMX Action misprinted-the number of consecutive number-one plates she was going for. It was three years in a row, not two.) She also wanted to pursue and concentrate on scholastic sports, like basketball.
Elliott told BMX Plus!, in their June 1986 issue, that Skyway Recreations, the factory racing team that sponsored her, dropped their racing team after the 1985 racing season. The year 1986 was known to racers as "the year of no sponsorships" because some bicycle manufactures who sponsored racing teams, like Torker
Torker
Torker is a brand of bicycles and unicycles currently owned by Seattle Bike Supply, headquartered in Kent, Washington.-History:The Torker name was created by Johnson Engineering in Fullerton, CA in 1977 for a BMX bike frame....
and JMC, went out of business—due, in part, to low cost Asian imports. The teams sponsored by Diamond Back and Redline were pared back, and Skyway dropped their sponsorship altogether, in favor of either creating or expanding BMX Freestyle teams.
Elliott did race in one National in 1986: the ABA Supernationals in late January, where she placed fourth in the 15 & Over Girls class.
As the BMX periodical BMX Action put it, "after being casually released from Skyway, [she] decided it was easier to just quit the sport while on top than shop for a ride."
In 1996, she would co-author a book called The Athlete's Guide to Sponsorship during her subsequent mountain-bike racing career.
Women's professional BMX racing
The NBL introduced the girls' pro class in the 1985 season, and continued it through the 1987 season. Elliott did not turn professional, because she retired at age 15 when the minimum required age to turn pro was 16. She did express interest in the pro class: "There needs to be a pro class for the girls so we will have more interest in the sport."She was happy when the NBL's Competition Congress authorized a pro girls' class in late 1984: "I think it's great that they finally passed it... Now girls will have something to stay in the sport for." When the pro Girls' class started at the beginning of the 1985 season, only girls 16 years of age and older qualified to compete in it. Elliott was only 15 years old on April 17, 1985.
As Elliott put it during an interview conducted by her modern day counterpart, professional cyclist Jill Kintner
Jill Kintner
Jill Kintner is a professional American "Mid School" Bicycle Motocross and professional mountain cross racer whose prime competitive years were 1995-2002 in BMX; 2004–present in mountain cross...
, on Kintner's blog:
BMX retirement
After almost four years, Elliott came out of retirement on the national level on Saturday October 28, 1989, when she raced the ABA's Fall National in Yorba Linda, CaliforniaYorba Linda, California
Yorba Linda is a suburban city in northeastern Orange County, California, approximately northeast of Downtown Santa Ana, and southeast of Downtown Los Angeles....
apparently for the fun of it due to her ABA BMX Hall of Fame induction the following November. She probably thought she would be at the ABA Grand Nationals anyway for her acceptance speech, why not race as well? Other reports have it that Elliott was lured out of retirement by the Bicycle Center bicycle shop as a "spoiler
Spoiler effect
The spoiler effect describes the effect a minor party candidate with little chance of winning has in a close election, when that candidate's presence in the election draws votes from a major candidate similar to them, thereby causing a candidate dissimilar to them to win the election...
" to better position other Bicycle Center racers to take various titles. Whatever the reason, prior to the Fall Nationals she was seen practicing at the Roseville, California
Roseville, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Roseville had a population of 118,788. The population density was 3,279.4 people per square mile...
Oak Creek BMX track. She dominated the 15 & Over girls' class at the Fall Nationals on Saturday. However, she slipped her pedals in the Main and finished in seventh place—last, in this case—in the main. On Sunday, she again came in last (out of six) in the main.
Elliott was on the verge of winning her 15 & Over girls' Main at the 1989 ABA Grand Nationals in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
; however, fate bit her again as it did at the Fall Nationals. She fell doing a trick over a jump. She landed badly, and crashed. The rest of the pack passed her, and her chance of being the Grand National winner went with them. Mapuana Naki won the National number one girl title for 1989. Elliot was not in contention for the title, since she didn't resume racing until October 1989. After racing one or two more times on the national level, Elliott continued her BMX retirement in February 1990.
Professional mountain bike racing
Retiring from BMX did not cure her entirely of the racing bug. After college and a five-year retirement—nine years, if you do not count her two races in 1989— she went on to mountain bike racingMountain bike racing
The Union Cycliste Internationale recognised the sport of mountain bike racing relatively late in 1990, when it sanctioned the world championships in Purgatory, Colorado. The first mountain biking world cup series took place in 1991. Its nine-race circuit covered two continents—Europe and North...
(MTB) in 1994.
MTB, a sport similar to BMX that uses bicycles with 26-inch wheels similar to the "Cruiser class" bicycles in BMX circa 1980, has courses that are much longer and on steep, downhill slopes, with certain events—especially snow racing—resembling downhill skiing. Races could last up to 10 minutes (compared to BMX's 30 to 40 seconds), with speeds hitting 70 miles per hour (112.7 km/h) (compared to BMX's 25 to 35 mph (40.2 to 56.3 km/h) for Experts and Professionals). In her first year of racing mountain bikes, Elliott became the National Dual Slalom Champion, the first such championship of many.
Over her cycling career, Elliott has won 14 major world and national titles, including four National Off Road Bicycle Association National Championships and two ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
X Games
X Games
The X Games is a commercial annual sports event, controlled and arranged by US sports broadcaster ESPN, which focuses on action sports. The inaugural X Games was held in the summer of 1995 in Rhode Island....
gold medals. However, she did not race in the revived NBL "Supergirls" class, its professional girls' division, when it was recreated in 1997, dedicating her time to Dual Slalom and Downhill MTB.
As she was starting her MTB racing career, she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Business (with Honors), concentrated in Real Estate and Finance, in 1994.
Post cycling career
Elliott retired from competitive racing during the 2001 Mountain Bike season, becoming a Realtor in California; she bills herself as "The Broker on a Bike".She is also a public speaker, a helmet-safety advocate for children, and co-owns and runs her own sports management company, JED Sports Management.
Burnout played a role in her decision to retire, along with the more pressing question of injury.
A few years after she retired from Mountain Bike competition, she considered another comeback in BMX, despite her career-ending back injury. She contemplated coming out of retirement for the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in Beijing, China, where BMX racing was making its Olympic debut:
She chose not return, for health reasons.
Career BMX milestones
| Milestone | Event Details |
|---|---|
| Started racing | March 1980, at 9 years of age. |
| First race result | First place in 9 & Over Girls class in Prairie City, California Prairie City, California Prairie City was a gold-mining community that once sat in the California foothills. The Folsom, California subdivision 'Prairie Oaks' was named because it is believed that the city once stood in this general area.... . |
| First win (local) | See above. |
| Home sanctioning body district(s) | National Bicycle Association National Bicycle Association The National Bicycle Association , later known as the National Bicycle Motocross Association was an United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Soledad, California that was created by Ernie Alexander in 1973 and ceased operations as an independent body in 1981... (NBA)
American Bicycle Association (ABA)
|
| First sponsor | JR Racing, local sponsor (1980–December 1981) |
| First national win | 1980 United Bicycle Racers United Bicycle Racers Association The United Bicycle Racers was a short-lived Bicycle Motocross racing sanctioning body based in Modesto, California which was started by John Valdez, a bike shop owner, on his 18th birthday that lasted from 1977-1983. At its peak it had 34 tracks in California and Nevada... (UBR) national in 9–10 girls. She also took a third in 9–10 open, and raced in 10 Expert, but did not make main. |
| First National win against boys | January 17, 1982 UBR Bay Area National, beating Mark Perez in 11 Expert. |
| Turned Professional | No Professional CareerIt was restarted at the beginning of the 1997 racing season. |
| Height and weight, at peak of her career | Height: 5 inch Weight: 110 lb (49.9 kg) |
| Retired | After the ABA Supernationals which were held on January 27, 1986. She made a brief two race comeback in late 1989 for a few months of racing, including the ABA Fall Nationals and the ABA Grandnationals that year, while being awarded her BMX Hall of Fame Induction. She raced at least once very early in the 1990 season on the national level, and then retired again. She pursued Mountain Bike Racing for four years thereafter. |
Career BMX factory and major bicycle shop sponsorships
Note: This listing only denotes the racer's primary sponsors. At any given time a racer could have numerous ever changing co-sponsors. Primary sponsorships can be verified by BMX press coverage and sponsor's advertisements at the time in question. When possible exact dates are given.Amateur
- JR Racing: 1980-December 1981
- Boss Racing Frames: January 1982-December 1982
- Skyway Recreations: January 1, 1983-December 31, 1985
- Retired from BMX racing for approximately 3.5 years (Early 1986-Late 1989).
- Bicycle Center USA (bike shop): October 1989-February 1990. This wasa brief two-race comeback for BMX Hall of Fame Induction awarded at the ABA Grand Nationals in November 1989. She resumed her retirement in early 1990.
Career bicycle motocross titles
Note: Listed are District, State/Provincial/Department, Regional, National, and International titles in italics. "Defunct" refers to the fact of that sanctioning body in question no longer existing at the start of the racer's career or at that stage of his/her career. Depending on point totals of individual racers, winners of Grand Nationals do not necessarily win National titles.Amateur
National Bicycle AssociationNational Bicycle Association
The National Bicycle Association , later known as the National Bicycle Motocross Association was an United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Soledad, California that was created by Ernie Alexander in 1973 and ceased operations as an independent body in 1981...
(NBA)
- None
National Bicycle League
National Bicycle League
The National Bicycle League is a United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Deerfield Beach, Florida but after several moves it was based in Hilliard, Ohio...
(NBL)
- 1981 11-13 Powder PuffPowder PuffPowderpuff is a reference to the division of a traditionally male sport reserved for females regardless of the age of the participants.Powderpuff football games are an annual tradition at many high schools and universities in the United States and Canada...
Knott's Berry Farm Grand Champion (NBL, United Bicycle Racers (UBR) & World Wide Bicycle Motocross Association (WWBMXA) sanctioned.) - 1983 12-13 Girls Grandnational Champion
- 1984 14-15 Girls Grandnational Champion
- 1984 National No.1 14-15 Girl.
American Bicycle Association
American Bicycle Association
The American Bicycle Association is a United States-based Bicycle Motocross sports governing body in Gilbert, Arizona created by Merl Mennenga and Gene Roden in 1977. It is the largest sanctioning body in the United States concerning BMX. It has tracks in Canada and Mexico as well as in the USA...
(ABA)
- 1982 11-12 Girls Northwest Gold Cup Champion
- 1982 11-12 Girls Grandnational Champion
- 1982 11-12 girls Jag World Champion (ABA sanctioned)
- 1983 13-14 Girls U.S. Gold Cup Champion.
- 1983 13-14 Girls Grandnational Champion
- 1984 13-14 Girls U.S. Gold Cup Champion.
- 1984 California District 11 (Cal-11) No.1 Girl.
- 1984 13-14 Girls International Super Bowl of BMX Class Champion.
- 1984 13-14 Grandnational Champion
- 1985 15 & Over Girls Grandnational Champion
- 1985 15 & Over Girls National No.1
- 1983, 1984, 1985 National No.1 Girl.
United Bicycle Racers Association
United Bicycle Racers Association
The United Bicycle Racers was a short-lived Bicycle Motocross racing sanctioning body based in Modesto, California which was started by John Valdez, a bike shop owner, on his 18th birthday that lasted from 1977-1983. At its peak it had 34 tracks in California and Nevada...
(UBR)
- 1981 12-13 Girls Grandnational Champion
- 1982 National No.1 Girl.
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)Beginning in 1991, the IBMXF and the FIAC—the amateur cycling arm of the UCI—had been holding joint World Championship events as a transitional phase of their merger, which began in earnest in 1993. Beginning with the 1996 season, the IBMXF and FIAC completed the merger; both ceased to exist as independent entities, being integrated into the UCI. Beginning with the 1996 World Championships held in Brighton, England, the UCI officially holds and sanctions BMX World Championships, and with it inherited all precedents, records, streaks, etc. from both the IBMXF and FIAC.
- 1983 12-13 Girls Murray World II Cup Champion
- 1985 15 Girls Murray World Cup IV Champion
- 1985 14-15 Girls World Champion
Other titles
- 1983 12-13 Girls Jag World Super Bowl Champion (Non sanctioned)
Notable BMX accolades
- Named the seventh of the 25 Hottest Amateurs in BMX racing by a 1984 survey conducted by BMX Plus!, from the opinions of four prominent figures in BMX: Two racers, Brent PattersonBrent Patterson (BMX rider)Brent Hathaway Patterson is a former American "Old School" bicycle motocross racer....
and Mike PoulsonMike PoulsonMichael Poulson is an American "Old School" former professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1981-1987.-Racing career milestones:...
; and two team officials: Dr. Gary Scofield of GT and Howard Wharthon of Diamond Back.
- She is the first girl to earn two overall national number-one girl titles consecutively (1983, 1984 ABA), and the only girl to do so three times consecutively (1983, 1984, 1985 ABA).
- In 1989, she became the first woman to be inducted into ABA BMX Hall of Fame.
- In 2008, she became the first BMX woman to be inducted into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame.
- In 1985, she became the only female ever put on BMX Actions official list of suggested racers to be selected for voting in the magazine's Number One Racer Award (NORA) Cup for best racer of the year.
Racing habits and traits
- Elliott had the physical quirk of unconsciously bobbing her head up and down slightly when she raced.
Notable BMX injuries
- Elliott is one of the few top BMX racers to escape serious injury during her BMX career, in contrast to her Mountain Bike racing career.
Post-BMX career
- After her last BMX race in late 1989, which came after a four-year hiatus, she became a mountain bike racer in 1993.
Mountain Bike Racing Career Milestones
| Milestone | Event Details |
|---|---|
| Started racing | 1993 at 23 years of age. In the Summer of 1993 she saw in a bicycle shop a copy of VeloNews magazine and ran across and article about pro dual slalom races. She called a friend who was driving up to a NORBA National event Vail, Colorado Vail, Colorado The Town of Vail is a Home Rule Municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,589 in 2005. The town was established and built as the base village to Vail Ski Resort, with which it was originally conceived... and that friend invited her to come along to give it a try. She accepted. After a second race in Mammoth, California Mammoth, California Mammoth is an unincorporated community in Modoc County, California. It is located on the former Great Northern Railway Bieber Line north-northwest of Timber Mountain, at an elevation of 4206 feet .... . Somewhat intimidated by the courses and speeds of Downhill MTB, she left the sport not expecting to race again but did so again after a six month layoff, determined to conquer her fears. |
| First race result | Did Not Transfer, at a Vail, Colorado event in Summer 1993. |
| Sanctioning body | National Off-Road Bicycle Association |
| Retired | 2001, at age 31, due to career ending injuries, including one to her spinal cord. |
Professional
National Off Road Bicycle Association (NORBA)- 1994 & 1995 National Dual Slalom Champion.
- 1997 National Downhill Champion.
- 1998 National Dual Slalom Champion.
- 2000 United States Dual Slalom Champion
ESPN X-Games
- 1995 Women's Summer Speed Downhill Gold Medalist.
- 1995 Women's Summer Dual Downhill Gold Medalist.
- 1997 Women's Winter Speed Downhill Gold Medalist.
Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)
- 1998 Women's Downhill World Champion Bronze Medalist
Notable MTB accolades
- During the 1997 and 1998 seasons, Ms. Elliott won the Guinness World Record for most X-Games Medals attained in Mountain Biking.
Notable MTB injuries
- 1994 Broken Right Thumb
- 1995 Received two concussions
- 1996 Right Shoulder AC Separation
- 1997 Broken Right Elbow
- 1999 Finger injury
- 2000-2001 Spinal Cord Annular Tear and RetrolisthesisRetrolisthesisA retrolisthesis is a posterior displacement of one vertebral body with respect to the adjacent vertebrae to a degree less than a luxation . Clinically speaking, retrolisthesis is the opposite of spondylolisthesis . In the past this clinical pathology was also called a "retrospondylolisthesis"...
L5-S1 (forced retirement) This was the instance in which she broke her back at event at Mammoth, CaliforniaMammoth, CaliforniaMammoth is an unincorporated community in Modoc County, California. It is located on the former Great Northern Railway Bieber Line north-northwest of Timber Mountain, at an elevation of 4206 feet ....
in 2001. She walked away from the crash but started having partial paralysis in her leg a few days later.
BMX, mountain bike magazine and general media interviews and articles
- "Cheri Elliott" side bar BMX Plus! June 1982 Vol. 5 No. 6 pg. 77
- "The Unquestioned Best!" Super BMX March 1984 Vol. 11 No. 3 pg. 73. One of the four ABA No.1 title holders of 1983 profiled.
- "Cheri Elliott: The fastest girl in BMX" BMX Plus! May 1984 Vol.7 No.5 pg.35
- "Super Cheri" Bicycles and Dirt September 1984 Vol. 10 No. 2 pg. 25
- "Flashdance on Wheels" Women's Sport & Fitness October 1986 pg. 18
- "Dusting Off the Competition" The Sacramento Bee January 24, 1985 Vol. 4 No. 55 (Neighbors)
- "All The Best!" Super BMX & Freestyle March 1985 Vol. 12 No. 3 pg. 60 Cheri Elliott profiled along with the other three ABA no. 1 plate winners of 1984.
- "BMX Girl Posts Easiest Win" Sacramento Sports Magazine March/April 1985 (SSM Sports Challenge)
- "BMX's Newest Champions" Super BMX & Freestyle March 1986 Vol. 13 No. 3 pg. 58 Subject of one of four combined articles of the four 1985 ABA National No.1 Champions including Ronnie Anderson, Sean Callihan and Brent Romero.
- "Cheri Elliott: Women's Dual Slalom Champion" Mountain Bike Action December 1994 pg. 100 (Champions)
- "How to Get Sponsored: Tips from Cheri Elliott" Mountain Bike Action June 1996 pg. 61 (Guide to Racing)
- "Who's Who in the American Racing Scene" Mountain Bike Action December 1997 pg. 105
- "Two Privateers Smoke the Factory Stars" Mountain Bike Action December 1997 pg. 130
- "Cheri Elliott Saves American Face" Mountain Bike Action January 1999 pg. 115 (Winners)
BMX and MTB magazine covers
Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:- Super BMX: Spring 1985 American Bicycle AssociationAmerican Bicycle AssociationThe American Bicycle Association is a United States-based Bicycle Motocross sports governing body in Gilbert, Arizona created by Merl Mennenga and Gene Roden in 1977. It is the largest sanctioning body in the United States concerning BMX. It has tracks in Canada and Mexico as well as in the USA...
(ABA) Grand National Special Edition at the far left insert. In middle insert Brent Romero. In the far right insert Pete LoncarevichPete LoncarevichPeter Loncarevich is a former Bicycle Motocross racer. Loncarevich was an "Old School" professional BMX racer whose prime competitive years were from 1980 to 1994....
. In the top insert Shawn Callihan. - Super BMX: March 1984 Vol. 11 No. 3 in insert with fellow amateur racers Doug Davis, Brett Allen and pro Brian PattersonBrian PattersonBrian Patterson is a former American "Old School" bicycle motocross racer.Brian Patterson is the younger of the most potent sibling combinations BMX has ever seen. With Brent the Brothers Patterson are the only brothers to both hold the National No.1 Pro title in any major BMX sanctioning body...
as the 1983 ABA National Number Ones. Brian Patterson in main image.
Bicycles and Dirt:
- September 1984 Vol.2 No.10 with Gary EllisGary EllisGary Leo Ellis Jr. was an American "Old School" professional bicycle motocross racer.Ellis was one of the last of the "Old School" BMX racers whose careers started in the 1970s to early 1980s. His prime competitive years were from 1982-1996.Nickname: "The Lumberjack"...
and Brit Audeoud in separate frames.
ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer (The official ABA membership publication under three names):
- April 1984 Vol.7 No.3 far left with (clockwise) Eddy KingEddy KingEdward King is an "Old School" former professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1977 to 1985....
, Brent Romero, Todd Guss, Brian PattersonBrian PattersonBrian Patterson is a former American "Old School" bicycle motocross racer.Brian Patterson is the younger of the most potent sibling combinations BMX has ever seen. With Brent the Brothers Patterson are the only brothers to both hold the National No.1 Pro title in any major BMX sanctioning body...
, Doug Davis and Brett Allen.
Mountain Biking:
- July 1995 Vol. 9 No. 7
NORBA News:
- January 1995 Vol. 12 No .1
Bike Racing Nation: (Official Publication of USA Cycling)
- November/December 1998 Vol. 20 No. 2
External links
- A photo montage of Ms. Elliott during her BMX career.
- A site dedicated to her old BMX factory team circa early & mid-1980s.
- A history of Skyway Recreation.
- Photo of her in action during her Mountain Bike Racing career.
- Historical Cheri Elliott page with MTB and BMX photos.
- Google cached 1997 Mountain Democrat article about her career.
- United States Bicycling Hall of Fame 2008 Inductees
- Cheri Elliott's current Website
- Jill Kintner October 2008 interview of Cheri Elliott
