U.S. Paralympics Cycling Announces 14-Member Strong Team for Paralympic Games

MINNEAPOLIS – After a three-pronged qualification process, U.S. Paralympics Cycling today announced the 14 athletes nominated to the 2020 U.S. Paralympic Cycling team. Team USA will field an experienced team at the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 — eight cyclists have previous Paralympic experience for a combined 19 medals.

Athletes were selected based on a combination of their results from the 2020 Track World Championship, the UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup in Ostend, Belgium, in May, and U.S. Paralympic Team Trials – Cycling, that took place in Minneapolis this weekend.

Four-time Paralympians Will Groulx (Portland, Oregon) and Oksana Masters (Louisville, Kentucky) lead the way for the Tokyo team with four Paralympic berths apiece, though both have accumulated ample experience in other Para sports before competing in cycling. Groulx, a six-time medalist, made three Paralympic teams in wheelchair rugby before competing in Rio as a cyclist, where he took home gold in the MH4 road race and silver in the time trial. Masters, meanwhile, is a multisport Paralympian, having competed in both Nordic skiing and rowing in addition to cycling. All eight of her Paralympic medals have come outside of cycling, but after nabbing gold and silver in her most recent UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup races in Belgium this spring, she is eyeing her first Paralympic cycling medal.

2016 double gold medalist Shawn Morelli (Meadville, Pennsylvania) returns to the Paralympic stage to defend her WC4 road time trial and track pursuit titles. Morelli was selected to the team in part based on her track world championship bronze medal from 2020, and is slated to compete in both track and road races in Tokyo.

Two-time Paralympian Alicia Dana (Putney, Vermont) was named to her third Paralympic team and will look to top the podium in the women’s WH3 class after taking silver in the road time trial in Rio. Samantha Bosco (Claremont, California) will also seek her first Paralympic gold medal in the women’s WC4 category after taking double bronze in 2016. Bosco looked strong in her 2021 campaign, winning both her road race and time trial in Belgium.

Other athletes with Paralympic experience include Tom Davis (Fremont, Indiana), Freddie De Los Santos (Hopewell Junction, New York) and Chris Murphy (Rancho Cucamonga, California), all of whom narrowly missed the podium in Rio and will look to redeem their fourth-place finishes with medals in Tokyo.

Clara Brown (Falmouth, Maine) headlines a group of newcomers making their Paralympic debuts. Brown has risen through the ranks of Para-cycling, most notably winning the women’s C3 time trial track world championship title in 2020. She also took silver in the track individual pursuit and bronze in the road race and time trial.

Monica Sereda (St. Petersburg, Florida) earned her first Paralympic team nomination after a strong showing in Belgium, where she took double gold in the women’s T2 class. Cody Jung (Poway, California), who is ranked second in the World Cup rankings in the men’s C4 class, Ryan Pinney (Cave Creek, Arizona), who took silver in the men’s H3 road race in Belgium, Matt Rodriguez (San Diego, California), the men’s T2 double bronze medalist in Belgium, and Aaron Keith (Woodinville, Washington), who medaled at the 2020 track world championships, round out the team. All earn their first Paralympic berth with this nomination.

The Tokyo Paralympics will begin August 24. Cycling competition runs from August 25 – September 3.

For media and image requests, please contact Kristen Gowdy at Kristen.Gowdy@usopc.org.

2020 U.S. Paralympic Cycling Team

Women:

Shawn Morelli, WC4

Monica Sereda, WT2

Oksana Masters, WH5

Alicia Dana, WH3

Samantha Bosco, WC4

Clara Brown, WC3

Men:

Aaron Keith, MC1

Chris Murphy, MC5

Matt Rodriguez, MT2

Alfredo de los Santos, MH5

Will Groulx, MH2

Tom Davis, MH4

Ryan Pinney, MH3

Cody Jung, MC4