Ashley Fiolek
Ashley Fiolek | |
---|---|
Born | October 22, 1990 Dearborn, Michigan, U.S. | (age 33)
Motocross career | |
Years active | 2008–2012 |
Teams | Honda |
Championships | WMA - 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 |
Wins | 19 |
Ashley Fiolek (born October 22, 1990) is an American former professional
Early life
Fiolek was born in Dearborn, Michigan, and has been deaf since birth, but her parents didn't realize until she was about 3 years old. In August 1998, the Fiolek family, moved to St. Augustine, Florida, so Ashley could attend the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, the largest school of this type in the United States. At the school, she studied ballet, ran track and played basketball. When Fiolek finished eighth grade, her parents decided to begin homeschooling her.[4]
As a child, her family often went to her grandfather's cabin in Wolverine, Michigan, and rode through the woods for hours. Around the age of three, Fiolek's parents gave her a Yamaha PW50, a bike suitable for very young riders. She rode that for several years, with training wheels, accompanied by her parents.[5]
Fiolek has a dog named Bambi .[6]
Career
Fiolek began racing at age seven.
In 2008, she was the first female motocross racer to make the cover of
In 2010 Fiolek met Noora Moghaddas (née Noora Naraghi), a top motocross competitor in the Middle East, and the two women bonded while riding and sharing similar goals to improve conditions for women and girls in their respective countries. Fiolek said, "Noora continues in her quest to help Iranian women learn how to ride, race and become stronger. I hope to be a part of that important mission with her, so that we can both share our love of motocross with people in other countries! It is great to know our world is really not that big. Even with different languages and cultures, we can all come together and share something we feel passionate about."[17]
X 1Games
In 2009, she won her first X Games gold medal in Women's Moto x Super x at X Games 15.[18] This made her the X Games' first deaf medalist, and the youngest-ever Women's Motocross Association champion.[19] Fiolek won her second consecutive X Games Gold Medal in Super X Women's on July 31, 2010, at X Games 16.
In 2011, at X Games 17, Fiolek crashed during practice and was knocked unconscious. Doctors determined she would be unable to compete. In 2012, she sat out for a second consecutive year at X Games 18 after a concussion she experienced in a crash on June 2 at WMX Moto 2 in Lakewood, Colorado.[20]
Post WMX
In June 2012, Fiolek appeared on
In 2013, she played herself in No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie.
In July 2014, she began work as a motorcycle stunt performer for a touring Marvel Universe Live show.[24]
References
- ^ Hello! My name is Ashley Fiolek Archived October 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Ashley Fiolek Foundation. 2013.
- ^ "Learning to sign with Ashley Fiolek ep. 3". YouTube. Red Bull. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
- ^ "Ashley Fiolek career statistics". racerxonline.com. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
- ^ Roenigk, Alyssa. Silence is Golden[permanent dead link]. ESPN Magazine. 2009-08-20.
- ^ Fiolek, Ashley.Kicking Up Dirt. HarperCollins, 2010, pp. 19-21.
- ^ "Ashley Fiolek — Fall in Line". ABILITY Magazine. 2020-10-13. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
- ^ Marshall, Konrad. Silent Thunder Archived 2014-10-28 at the Wayback Machine. Jacksonville.com 2007-09-30.
- ^ Ashley Fiolek wins first-ever professional moto at Hangtown[permanent dead link]. Ledger-Dispatch. 2008-06-06.
- ^ AMA Women's Motocross Series. Versus TV. 2009-06-24.
- ^ Honda (2012). "Ashley Fiolek Bio". American Honda Motor Co., Inc. - Motorcycle Division. Archived from the original on 2012-08-18. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
- ^ Ashely Fiolek Nominated for ESPY Award Archived 2011-07-24 at the Wayback Machine. TransWorld Motocross. 2009-06-28.
- ^ "Deaf Person of the Month". Deafpeople.com. 2015-08-11. Archived from the original on 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
- ^ Fiolek, Ashley. Kicking Up Dirt. HarperCollins, 2010.
- ^ Roenigk, Alyssa (2011-05-04). "Ashley Fiolek stars in TV commercial". ESPN Action Sports. ESPN. Archived from the original on 2011-05-10. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
- ^ Gay, Jason (2012-04-02). "Ashley Fiolek: Hear Me Roar". Vogue. Archived from the original on 2014-10-28. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
- ^ "Motocrossing against all odds: Ashley Fiolek at TEDxAthens 2012". TEDx. 2012-12-10. Archived from the original on 2014-01-19. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
- ^ "Interview with Ashley Fiolek". ABILITY. December 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-07-24. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
- ^ Associated Press. Fiolek makes final-lap move for win. Archived 2009-08-03 at the Wayback Machine ESPN Magazine. 2009-08-02.
- ^ "Deaf Person of the Month". Deafpeople.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-17. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
- ^ Ricardi, Alisha (25 June 2012). "Ashley Fiolek out of X Games LA". ESPN. Archived from the original on 2012-08-05. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
- ^ Smith, B.J. (2012-06-20). "Ashley Fiolek to guest on 'Conan'". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 2012-08-15. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
- ^ Smith, B.J. (2012-09-06). "Fiolek, Patterson, Gieger chase title". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-09. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
- ^ Ashley Fiolek [@AshleyFiolek67] (May 19, 2013). ""@vurbmoto: Fiolek has retired from the WMX" No, series sucks! I quit!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Smith, B.J. (2014-07-10). "Ashley Fiolek's newest adventure". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-28. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
External links
- Ashley Fiolek Foundation website at the Wayback Machine (archived October 28, 2014)
- Fiolek's sponsored racing website at the Wayback Machine (archived June 27, 2013)
- Ashley Fiolek at the X Games (archived)
- Ashley Fiolek at IMDb
- Ashley Fiolek on Twitter