Mike Farrell

Paralympian 2008

Athlete Bio#

Age

Hometown

Colorado Springs

In 2002, Mike Farrell moved from Massachusetts, where he had lived his entire life, to Colorado Springs, Colo., to focus solely on cycling training. Farrell began racing as a teenager after he was inspired by Greg LeMond’s dramatic race to his second Tour de France title. Farrell made his Paralympic Games debut in 2008 in Beijing.

Growing up, Farrell was a competitive surfer and racquetball player. He competed in Racquetball at both Worcester State College and Bridgewater State College, although cycling remained his primary focus.

In his first major international competition, Farrell earned a top-10 finish in the Road Time Trial at the 2005 IPC Open European Cycling Championships. He competes in the C3 category because of the muscle paralysis that affects the right side of his body, the result of an incident that occurred when he was just three days old – his first day out of the hospital. The family dog bit Farrell’s head, resulting in permanent nerve damage.

In addition to training, Farrell works full-time as a social worker at Cheyenne Village, Inc., a community program in Colorado Springs designed to assist adults with developmental disabilities. In 2007, he married triathlete Pamela Welch, who he met in high school at a cycling club.

Major Achievements:

2011: Silver medal, H1-4 mixed tim trial; silver, H1-4 road race; Parapan American Games, Guadalajara, Mexico
2010: Fifth place, Individual Time Trial (C3); seventh place, Individual Road Race (C3) – UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships, Quebec, Canada
2009: Seventh place, Individual Road Race (CP4); eighth place, Individual Time Trial (CP4) – UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships, Bogogno, Italy
2008: U.S. Paralympic Team member, Cycling – Beijing, China
2007: Seventh place, Team Sprint; Eighth place, Road Time Trial - IPC Cycling World Championships, Bordeaux, France
2007: Two gold medals (Pursuit, Time Trial) - U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling National Championships, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2007: Bronze medal, Road Race; Sixth place, Time Trial – U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling National Championships, Denver, Colo.
2006: Seventh place (Time Trial), eighth place (Road Race) - IPC Cycling World Championships, Aigle, Switzerland
2006: Two bronze medals (Road Time Trial, Track Time Trial) – U.S. Paralympics Cycling National Championships

Paralympic Experience

1-time Paralympian

Paralympic Games Beijing 2008, 7th (CP4 - Time Trial - Men), 8th (CP4 - 1000m Time Trial - Men), 9th (CP4 - 4km Pursuit - Men), 28th (LC1/LC2/CP4 - Road Race - Men)

World Championships Experience

Most recent: 2012 – 12th (C3 - 3km Pursuit - Men), 14th (C3 - 1000m Time Trial - Men)
Years of participation: C3 - 1000m Time Trial - Men 2012; C3 - 3km Pursuit - Men 2012; C3 - Road Race - Men 2010, 2011; C3 - Time Trial - Men 2010, 2011; CP4 - Road Race - Men 2006, 2007, 2009; CP4 - Time Trial - Men 2006, 2007, 2009; CP4 - 1000m Time Trial - Men 2006, 2007; CP4 - 4km Pursuit - Men 2006
Top finish: 5th – 2010 (C3 - Time Trial - Men)