Wendy Houvenaghel

Wendy Houvenaghel

At the world championships, 2008
Personal information
Full name	Wendy Louise Houvenaghel
Born	(1974-11-27) 27 November 1974 (age 42) Upperlands, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	60 kg (130 lb; 9.4 st)
Team information
Discipline	Track
Role	Rider
Rider type	Pursuit / Time-trialist
Amateur team(s)
-2004	Camel Valley Cycling
2010-	Bike Chain Ricci
Professional team(s)
2005–2007	Science in Sport.com
2008–2009	Team Halfords Bikehut
Major wins
National 3 km Pursuit Champion (2005, 2006, 2010) UCI World Cup 3 km Individual Pursuit Champion (2005/6, 2006/7, 2009/10) National Time Trial Circuit Champion (2003, 2007, 2011, 2012) European Champion Team Pursuit (2010/11) UCI World Track Champion, Team Pursuit (2008, 2009, 2011)
Medal record Representing  Great Britain Track cycling Olympic Games 2008 Beijing Individual pursuit World Championships 2008 Manchester Team Pursuit 2009 Pruszków Team Pursuit 2011 Apeldoorn Team Pursuit 2010 Copenhagen Team Pursuit 2009 Pruszków Individual Pursuit 2010 Copenhagen Individual Pursuit 2012 Melbourne Individual Pursuit European Elite Championships 2010 Pruszków Team pursuit Commonwealth Games Representing  Northern Ireland 2010 Delhi Individual Pursuit

Wendy Louise Houvenaghel (née McLean; born 27 November 1974) is a Northern Irish former racing cyclist from Upperlands, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, riding on both the road and track, but specialising in the latter. She has represented Great Britain in various World Cycling Championships and in the 2008 Olympic Games, most notably winning the silver medal at the Beijing Olympic Games, and gold in the team pursuit at the 2008, 2009 and 2011 Track World Championships. She has also won many British national titles and represented England at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and Northern Ireland at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Houvenaghel is based in Cornwall, England.

Houvenaghel grew up in Upperlands near Maghera. She went to Ampertaine County Primary School in Upperlands and Rainey Endowed Grammar School in Magherafelt. She studied dentistry at the University of Dundee, where she met her husband. After qualifying, she became a dentist in the Royal Air Force, commissioned as a Flight Lieutenant on a Short Service Commission on 6 August 1998, and promoted to Squadron Leader on 6 August 2003. Completing her commission in August 2004, Houvenaghel took up a part-time post at a local dental surgery to help fund her ambitions as a cyclist. She was fast-tracked onto the Olympic Podium Plan by the British Cycling Federation in June 2006, with the aim of winning a medal at the Beijing Olympic Games in August 2008.