Irmiger wins first US gold medal at Pan Am Games
American victorious in Guadalajara
American mountain biker Heather Irmiger won the first gold medal of the 2011 Pan American Games, finishing the 24.8km cross country mountain bike course with a time of 1:34:09. Laura Lorenza Morfin (Mexico) crossed the line at 1:45 for silver while Canadian Amanda Sin battled her compatriot Mikaela Kofman to take bronze. Noelia Rodriguez (Argentina) was third.
"The people and town of Tapalpa were incredible hosts for our event and the course was perfect for me," said Irmiger who also participated in the 2003 Pan American Games and is fluent in Spanish. "I enjoyed the technical sustained climb and navigating my way through the cobbled streets lined with yelling fans. I found out after the race that my win was the first medal for the games - what an exciting victory! "
Irmirger led the race in Tapalpa, Jalisco from the first lap.
"I am so honored to have been given the opportunity to ride for Team USA at the Pan American Games - it's an event that I have always wanted to be a part of," Irmiger said. "Thanks to everyone with Team USA who helped make this possible!"
Sin fought a hard battle throughout the entire race, especially against teammate Kofman, who suffered a right hand injury in the first seconds of the race as she was pushed down by a competitor. After exchanging the lead back and forth, Sin took off in the last lap to grab the bronze, while Kofman placed fourth not far behind.
"I feel very excited to win a medal here at the Pan-American Games," said Sin. "It's really exciting to win the first medal at these Games, so I am happy to do that for Canada."
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Heather Irmiger (United States of America) | 1:34:09 |
2 | Laura Lorenza Morfin (Mexico) | 0:01:45 |
3 | Amanda Mae-Ling Sin (Canada) | 0:03:05 |
4 | Mikaela Kofman (Canada) | 0:03:59 |
5 | Noelia Rodriguez (Argentina) | 0:06:18 |
6 | Adriana Rojas Cubero (Costa Rica) | 0:06:46 |
7 | Elisa Maria Garcia (Chile) | 0:07:04 |
8 | Alexandra Gabriela Serrano (Ecuador) | 0:07:17 |
9 | Daniela Campuzano (Mexico) | 0:09:30 |
10 | Liliana Uzcategui (Venezuela) | 0:09:55 |
11 | Laura Valentina Abril (Colombia) | 0:10:46 |
12 | Erika Gramiscelli (Brasil) | 0:16:34 |
DNF | Jennifer Edith Portillo (El Salvador) | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/j0riqebpsw1715769462.png)
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/j0riqebpsw1715769462.png)
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Tadej Pogačar leads UCI rankings; Astana, Arkéa-B&B Hotels struggle in 'relegation' standings
After Tour de France, DSM-Firmenich-PostNL and Cofidis also trail in team rankings -
Who will win the Paris Olympics individual time trial? Analysing the favourites
From Filippo Ganna to Chloé Dygert - the top contenders for the Paris Olympic Games individual time trial -
Caleb Ewan sprints to Vuelta a Castilla y Leon victory
Australian beats Davide Cimolai and Jenthe Biermans in La Cistérniga -
'Nations weren't happy that a bunch of randomers from Derby were beating them' - Dan Bigham's journey from treason to Olympic track
The former World Hour Record holder has gone from committing national team 'treason' to being an Olympic medal hopeful in Paris