DOB: 8/18/83     
Hometown: Temecula , CA
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 135 lbs.
Strengths: Track, Road Sprinting
Hobbies: Reading , Hiking with her Dogs, Skiing

Career Highlights

- Four-time World Track Cycling Champion
- 2008 United States Olympic Team
- World Record Holder – 3 Kilometer Individual Pursuit (3.22.2)
- Ten Times World Cup Gold Medalist
- 20 National Championship Cycling Titles

One of the most remarkable American track cycling careers almost never took place after Sarah retired from the sport in 2003. Burned out from the rigors of competitive cycling, Sarah gave up the sport after competing since she was 12 years old. Not intending to return, she sold most of her equipment, went to school and worked various odd jobs.

However, during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens , Sarah was inspired to make a comeback after watching her former teammates and competitors race on the sport's biggest stage. Later that year, at age 20, Sarah returned to the sport with a renewed sense of motivation. Since Sarah's brief hiatus, she's set two world records — in the individual pursuit and as part of the team pursuit — and become the first American woman to win three medals at a world championship (in 2011).

Sarah began cycling at age eight when her father, Cliff, introduced her to the sport. Sarah was a quick study and won her first junior national title in 1995 — the same year that Rebecca Twigg won the last women's World Championship Track gold medal for the United States . Eleven years later, Sarah put an end to America 's gold medal drought by taking the win and the world champion's rainbow jersey in Bordeaux , France, in 2006.

If it was her father that got her into cycling, she credits her husband and coach, Andy Sparks, for his tireless support of her career.

Sarah's pursuit of perfection goes well beyond the international distinctions she has collected within track racing. Besides being at the top of the sport, Sarah strives to live an "all-around" life. She spends time off the bike sharpening her mind and spirit by reading, hiking, exploring new places and taking her golden retriever on road trips. She studies world geography and how it relates, among other things, to cultures, languages and politics.