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Athlete Bio#
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Age
47
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)
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