Mandy Marquardt

Born in Mannheim, Germany, in August 1991, Mandy Marquardt moved with her mother and father to Plantation, Florida, when she was six years old.[10] After playing tennis, swimming and showing an interest in triathlons, she began cycling on the track at the age of 10 at the Velodrome at the Brian Piccolo Park.[11] A year later, she won her first two gold medals at the 2003 U.S. Junior Women’s 10-12 Road National Championships in Texas.[11]

Marquardt continued to race both the road and track discipline for years. At the age of 15, she moved to Germany to live with her father and to race on the European circuit.[12] One year later, she won a bronze medal in the 500m time trial at the German Junior National Championships.[13]

At the end of year testing in Germany, Marquardt was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 16. A doctor told her that she would never be able to compete at a high level at her sport again.[14] After working with and learning from experts to manage her diabetes, she once again won the bronze medal in the 500m Time Trial at the German Junior National Championships.[12]

After moving back to Florida, Marquardt joined Team Novo Nordisk in 2010.[10] That same year, she enrolled at Penn State Lehigh Valley, where she eventually became a Campus Cycling Club coach and graduated with a degree in Business Management and Marketing.[15]

Sources:[16][17][18][19][20]

• Mandy Marquardt at Cycling Archives