Wow! eBook
Willkie Sprint: A Story of Friendship, Love, and Winning the First Women's Little 500 Race
Author(s): Kerry Hellmuth (Author)
- Publisher: Indiana University Press
- Publication Date: April 2, 2024
- Language: English
- Print length: 214 pages
- ISBN-10: 0253069866
- ISBN-13: 9780253069863
Book Description
In 1987 four young women from different walks of life enrolled at Indiana University. No one knew that these four freshmen would defy the odds and go down in history as the underdog team to win the first ever women’s Little 500 bicycle race the following spring.
Willkie Sprint is the inspiring true story of that year of wonder and challenge, of the unbreakable bond they forged, and of the race they were determined to win.Kerry Hellmuth, a member of the legendary team Willkie Sprint, tells of that remarkable year of finding friendship and competitive purpose with her teammates, discovering the many beauties of Bloomington and the surrounding countryside from her bicycle, and embracing a larger world of insight and women’s rights through the guidance of remarkable professors. Hellmuth soon realized that her team did not ride alone: they rode to victory on the shoulders of so many bold and visionary women who came before, including the team of upperclassmen whose belief and perseverance had helped found the women’s Little 500 race and who were the heavy favorites to win in its inaugural year.
Willkie Sprint relives the thrilling race across 100 grueling laps, not only making it a story for the history books but also serving as an inspiring testament to all women riders on that landmark day.Editorial Reviews
Review
~Sheryl Sandberg, former COO, Facebook/Meta Former professional cyclist Kerry Hellmuth recounts the groundbreaking collegiate bike race that started her career. The four freshmen riders of the victorious Willkie Sprint team—Kerry Hellmuth, Kirsten Swanson, Amy Tucker, and Louise Elder—were considered underdogs.
~Outside Magazine Online
Title IX’s impact on women’s participation in sport is undeniable, and we often cite the powerful statistics that amply demonstrate that women can, do, and will participate in sport when given the opportunity.
Kerry Hellmuth’s terrific book adds to what we know about Title IX with something that is too often missing: a first-person account of the way sports participation transformed a woman’s life. Willkie Sprint is a great sports story—one that women have long deserved the right to tell.~Dionne Koller, Co-chair of the US Senate Commission on the State of US Olympics and Paralympics
[The] book explains the uphill challenge for women at that time with the slow progress of Title IX of the Civil Rights Act that was passed in the US just a decade before, when women gained access to the same benefits as men at federally-funded schools, including educational and athletic programmes. …
Hellmuth tells her story with light humour and an authentic voice…~Jackie Tyson, Cyclingnews
This
entertaining and affectionately written book is about much more as an autobiographical account of author Kerry Hellmuth’s own coming of age as an eighteen year old starting college. It is about working with people of different backgrounds, interests and skills[,] about the American college experience, academic and social, as well as the changing attitudes towards women, whether in sports or the greater world….”Willkie Sprint” …is about young people finding their way in life, about friendships and family, and about team-building and accomplishment.~Leslie Reissner, Pez Cycling News
Hellmuth’s inspiring account …details her young team’s journey to victory.
~Doug Moe, Madison Magazine
Kerry Hellmuth and her cycling teammates, along with all the other competitors in that historic race, helped move our nation forward on the difficult, generations-long path toward gender equity.
This lively memoir invites us along for the ride.~Scott Russell Sanders, author of Small Marvels Anytime a barrier is broken it is cause for celebration. It takes a lot of perseverance to compete in Indiana’s famed Little 500 bike race. But it takes even more to make history. Somewhere The Cutters are smiling.
~John Roach, author of Way Out Here in the Middle Willkie Sprint is a powerful coming-of-age memoir.
~Dede Demet Barry, Olympic silver medalist Like most glorious triumphs, the work is in the details: months of dreary workouts made into fun with great teammates, miles of training with nothing but good company, and the unknown lying ahead of her.
~Andy Hampsten, winner of the Giro d’Italia bike race I found myself cheering… loudly for Willkie Sprint. So will you.
~Christian Vande Velde, NBC commentator and former World Tour cyclist
For many, a bike is a vehicle for self discovery and freedom.
Hellmuth beautifully captures her journey through adolescence into adulthood.~Michael Barry, former World Tour cyclist, and author of Fitness Cycling
About the Author
Kerry Hellmuth spends many of her waking hours either riding a bike or figuring out how she can fit a ride into her schedule. She is a recovering attorney and also refuses to use the PhD in Behavioral Economics that she worked so hard to obtain late in life at the University of Trento in Italy. She lives in Trento with her two beloved teenage sons, who remind her on a daily basis that she is old and does not know anything.
