KIRK WHITEMAN
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Kirk Whiteman and Matt King win the Men's Match Sprints at the 2000 Paralympic Trials in Frisco, Texas. |
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Name: Kirk Whiteman |
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Sport:
Tandem Captain for Matt King since
2000 (USCF Category: Track 1 (elite) |
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Team:
ICG Communications |
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Residence: Brooklyn, New York |
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Hometown: Brooklyn, New York |
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Height:
5'8" |
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Weight: 190
lbs. |
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DOB:
10/12/65, |
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Education: New York Institute of Technology |
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Occupation: Spinning Instructor |
About Kirk:
In
the fall of 1983, Kirk Whiteman, while flipping through channels, saw a native
New Yorker named Nelson Vails win a gold medal at the Pan American Games in the
sport of cycling. Captivated by the speed and power of these sprinters, Kirk,
not long after, realized that cycling was his calling. Not knowing anything of
the sport, Kirk did hear that Nelson Vails was a former NYC bike messenger
turned pro bike racer. Whiteman, like Vails, started off by getting a
messenger’s job in Manhattan, linked up with one of the best amateur cycling
teams in the east, and he too has risen through the competitive ranks and has
become a champion. Since 1990 Kirk has medaled at just about every National
Championship he has entered. In 1996, he won his first National Championship in
the Tandem Sprints. A year later, he traded in the Stars and Stripes national
jersey for the Rainbow colored jersey of a World Champion in the Individual
Match Sprint Event at the Masters World Championship in Manchester, England. In
1998, Kirk successfully defended his individual match sprint world championship, he also set a world
record and won a gold medal in the Olympic Sprint Event. Kirk’s reign as world
champion has been more monumental than just winning. In 1997, Kirk was the
first African-American to win a world sprint title since Major Marshall Taylor
in 1899. In 1998, Kirk became the first two time African-American winner of
that title in the hundred plus years of cycling. Apart from a brilliant career
in cycling, Kirk has been reaching out to the children and athletes in the
community. He finds that there is a definite importance to teaching children
that there is freedom in discipline when striving to attain their goals.
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Competition Highlights: 2000 (as of August 20, 2000) Colorado Tandem Invitational, Colorado Springs, Colo., placed first in the Men's Match Sprints WFMZ Invitational, Trexlertown, Pa., placed first in the Men's Match Sprints WE Media Tandem Invitational, Trexlertown, Pa., placed first in the Men's Match Sprints Good Shephards Tandemonium at T-Town, Trexlertown, Pa., placed fourth in the Men's Match Sprints Elite Track Championships, Frisco, Tex., placed first in the men’s USABA kilometer..made the 2000 Paralympic Cycling Team which will be going to Sydney, Australia, in October of 2000. ICG/WE Media Track Series #1, Houston, Texas, placed first in the Men's Match Sprints
1999 Masters World Track Championships’, Manchester,
England, placed fourth in the 200 meter time trial, fifth in the match sprint,
and fifth in the Olympic Sprint Masters National Track Championships’, Plano, Tex.,
placed second in the match sprints, and second in the Olympic Sprint Senior National Track Championships’,
Trexlertown,
Pa., placed sixth in the 200 meter time trial, placed tenth in the match
sprint, placed fourth in the Olympic Sprint, and third in the tandem sprint New York State Track Championships’,
Kissena, NY, won
the match sprints, and won the Olympic Sprint #2 EDS Cup, Plano, Tex., placed sixth in the match
sprint, placed ninth in the keirin, and won six in the Olympic Sprint Floyd Bennet Field Criterium, Brooklyn, NY won sixth place
1998 Masters World Track Championships', Manchester,
England, won the match sprints and set a world record and won the Olympic
Sprints Masters National Track Championships',
Seattle, Wa., won the match sprints and placed second in the Senior National Track Championships’, Plano, Tex.,
placed tenth in the match sprint and placed sixth in the Olympic Sprint Eastern Regional Championships’,
Trexlertown, Pa., won
the match sprints and won the keirin New York State Track Championships’,
Kissena, NY, won
the match sprints
1997
Masters World Track Championships’, Manchester
England, won the match sprint, won the 200 meter time trial, and placed third
in the Olympic Sprint. Masters National Track Championships’, Houston, Tex.,
placed second in the match sprint and placed third in the 200 meter time trial Senior National Track Championships, Colorado Springs,
Colo., placed third in the Tandem Sprints, placed sixth in the Olympic Sprint,
placed third in the 200 meter time trial, and ninth in the match sprints International Grand Prix, Palesco, Trinidad, placed
third in the Olympic Sprints and placed third in the one lap scratch New York State Track Championships', Kissena, NY, won the match sprints
1996 Senior National Tandem Sprint Champion, won Tandem Sprints
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