A portion of
The NY Times story, and
EXPN, an extreme sports site linked to ESPN, has also coverage of
Ashley Fiolek's win. On both sites you can see video of her riding.
DELMONT, Pa. — With pink streaks in her hair and mischief in mind, Ashley Fiolek appeared more like a 17-year-old on summer vacation than a crusader for gender equity in her sport.
She was both last month at the Steel City Motocross National, held on a rambling rural landscape outside Pittsburgh. Before practice, she hid a competitor’s helmet as a gag. Hours later, she clinched the professional Women’s Motocross Association championship, soaring six feet over the finish line with her left arm raised to the sky.
It was an unambiguous gesture. But afterward, as she outlined career goals, her father, Jim, interpreted.
“Hopefully, next year I can come back and win it again,” Fiolek said, using sign language. “And maybe one day race with boys and try and qualify in the men’s pro race class.”
In a sport where bumps, berms, jumps and ledges are the norm, Fiolek has proved adroit at overcoming obstacles. Born deaf, she has become the top women’s motocross racer, using a technique that relies on the rhythms of the engine to indicate when to shift gears.
Although she had won an amateur women’s championship in 2004 — and finished 11th against 41 boys in another amateur championship — Fiolek was a revelation as a rookie professional in 2008, winning four of six rounds.
A portion of The NY Times story, and EXPN, an extreme sports site linked to ESPN, has also coverage of Ashley Fiolek's win. On both sites you can see video of her riding.