Sheila Grace Young-Ochowicz

Sheila Grace Young-Ochowicz

Speed Skater
Cyclist

Sheila Young-Ochowicz was born in Birmingham, Michigan attended Detroit Denby High School and competed for the Detroit area’s Wolverine Sports Club in speed skating and cycling. She competed in the 1972 Sapporo Olympics but did not medal, however four years later she won three medals in the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympics; gold in the 500m (setting an Olympic record), silver in the 1,500m and bronze in the 1,000m making her the first U.S. female athlete to win three medals in one Olympics. She would go on to set two more world records before retiring from speed skating. Young-Ochowicz also excelled in cycling where she was the U.S. sprint champion four times and world sprint champion three times. The U.S. Olympic Committee named her the Sportswoman of the year in 1976 and 1981. Sheila Young-Ochowicz was inducted into the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1981, the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1988, the National Speedskating Hall of Fame in 1991 and was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.