Nelson Vails
Personal information | |
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Born | Harlem, New York | October 13, 1960
Medal record |
Nelson Beasley Vails (born October 13, 1960) is a retired
Los Angeles, California, where he became the first African American and first person of African descent to win an Olympic medal in cycling.[1] He won the silver medal in the sprint, behind countryman Mark Gorski.[2] He was inducted to the US Bicycle Hall of Fame in 2009.[1]
Vails was also seen as a New York bicycle messenger in the film Quicksilver. He didn't just play a bicycle messenger in "Quicksilver," he worked as one in New York City. His nickname was "The Cheetah."[3] After his sporting career he has worked as a cycling commentator for major TV networks and taken part in cycling safety programs.
In 2005 Vails was inducted into the Lehigh Valley Velodrome Cycling Hall of Fame.[4]
Palmarès
- 1983
- 1st Pan American Games, individual sprint
- 1984
- 2nd Olympic Games, sprint
- 1st US National Track Champion, individual sprint
- 1st US National Track Champion, tandem sprint
- 1985
- 2nd Track World Champion, tandem sprint
- 1st US National Track Champion, tandem sprint
- 1986
- 1st US National Track Champion, tandem sprint
References
- ^ a b Bowen, Bob. "Nelson Vails | USBHOF". Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Nelson Vails". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
- ^ Mara Bovsun. "Fastest Cat – Nelson Vails". Retrieved July 26, 2011.
- ^ "Hall of Fame". Valley Preferred Cycling Center. Retrieved February 6, 2017.