Juli Furtado

Juliana "Juli" Furtado (born April 4, 1967 in New York City) is a retired American professional mountain biker, who began her sports career in skiing.

After knee injuries dashed her hopes of ski success, she took up cycling and won the US National Road Championship, and then went on to be very successful at mountain bike events - during her short 6-year career in MTB Furtado won five national titles and represented her country at the Olympics.

Born in April 4, 1967, her father's parents were Portuguese from São Miguel Island. She started skiing at age two, and racing at age 9 after her family moved to Vermont, where Furtado attended the Stratton Mountain School.

At age 15 she became the youngest member of the U.S. National ski team, for which she competed from 1982 to 1987. After undergoing several knee operations, Furtado's hopes of competing in the Olympics were forced to an end, and she attended University of Colorado Boulder on a skiing scholarship, where she received her BA in Marketing. While racing for CU her knee injuries forced her to retire from competitive skiing, and Juliana switched to cycling.

In 1989, her first year competing, Furtado won the US National Road Championship. She was then introduced to mountain biking, and 1990, again her first year competing, she won the cross-country event in (along with Ned Overend) the first official Mountain Bike World Championship, held in Durango, Colorado. In 1992 she won the downhill world championship. In 1996, Furtado won both the World Cup (her 3rd WC championship) and the NORBA (U.S. National race authority) cross-country championships. She also participated in the Atlanta Olympics. Unfortunately, though she was the overwhelming favorite to win, she suffered in the severe Atlanta sun and heat due to the as yet undetected Lupus in her system, and finished with an uncharacteristically slow 7th place. Soon after her Lupus was diagnosed, and again Furtado was forced into early retirement from her sport due to physical conditions. Her disease is currently under control and she still rides solo.

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