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Farrell Sweeps Men’s Titles at Track Cycling Nationals, Earns Spot on World Championships Team
By Marvin Olberding
// U.S. Paralympics
// July 3, 2007
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| Photo by Donna Chiarelli (www.dhcstudio.com) |
Mike Farrell, shown riding at the 2006 U.S. Paralympics Cycling National Championships, won both men's track events at the 2007 National Championships in Colorado Springs.
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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - For Colorado Springs resident Michael Farrell, the opportunity to compete in his own backyard served him well, as the 29-year-old won the men’s Time Trial and Pursuit races at the 2007 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling National Championships.
After winning by less than one percent over Bruce Gordon (South Bend, Ind.) in the one-kilometer Time Trial on Monday, Farrell won by a comfortable margin in Tuesday’s Pursuit, finishing the three-kilometer race in 4:00.6, 105.9 percent of the U.S. Paralympics Elite Team standard for his classification (CP4, 3:47.2).
The tandem of Clark Rachfal (Baltimore, Md.) and Dave Swanson (pilot, Tucson, Ariz.) finished second in the men’s pursuit, finishing at 107.68 percent of their standard.
On the women’s side, Barb Buchan (Bend, Ore.) nearly pulled off the sweep on the track for the second consecutive year. Despite a performance in the 500m Time Trial on Monday that beat her Elite Standard – she raced to 98.57 percent – Buchan finished second to Colorado Springs native Allison Jones (Denver, Colo.). The two-time Paralympian (alpine skiing – 2002, 2006) came through with a even stronger showing, stopping the clock at 47.95 seconds, 98.04 percent of her Elite Standard.
The 2004 Paralympian would go on to win the Pursuit Tuesday, racing to 100.51 percent of her Elite Standard.
The event served as a qualifying event for the 2007 U.S. Paralympics Cycling World Championships that will compete this August in Bordeaux, France. Five athletes received automatic selections to the squad based on their performance in Colorado Springs: Buchan, Kelly Crowley (Redwood City, Calif.), Farrell, Jones and the tandem of Swanson and Rachfal.
Crowley, a 2004 Paralympian in swimming, finished her Pursuit with a time of 4:07.46, 104.33 percent of her Elite Standard. The Rachfal/Swanson tandem earned their spot based on their performance in the men’s 200m Tandem Sprint. Their time of 11.21 seconds narrowly missed the Elite Standard of 11.03, finishing at 101.63 percent.
The five automatic selections join Alejandro Albor (Elk Grove, Calif.), Matt Updike (Denver, Colo.), Jennifer Schuble (Birmingham, Ala.), Ron Williams (Birmingham, Ala.) and Greta Neimanas (Colorado Springs, Colo.), who were already named to the team after their performance at the U.S. Paralympics Road Cycling National Championships in Denver.
U.S. Paralympics Cycling National Team Head Coach Craig Griffin (Colorado Springs, Colo.) said he saw a lot of positives come out of the event, including the emergence of some new athletes, the continued improvement of established riders and an increased depth in the women’s field.
“I’m very excited about what I saw this week because we had a lot of established athletes riding [personal-best times] and the riders who were new to the program are showing great potential,” Griffin said. “On the women’s side, we had five winners in five races (between the road and track championships), and they were all running very competitive times, so we’re seeing a depth in the women’s field we haven’t always necessarily had.”
Five additional athletes will round out the roster. The complete team announcement will take place later this week.
For complete results from the 2007 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling National Championships, click here.
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