Roundup: World Championship Medalists Go Trendy On Social Media
by Paul D. Bowker

Oksana Masters and Kate Brim pose with their gold medals at the 2022 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships. (Photo: Casey Gibson)
Every other week we scour the web for the latest going on in the world of U.S. Para-cycling. Here’s what you missed!
Celebrating On Social Media
Social media was booming after U.S. cyclists won seven gold medals, and 12 medals overall, at the 2022 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships held Aug. 11-14 in Baie-Comeau, Quebec.
Americans had plenty to celebrate and talk about. Samantha Bosco, Kate Brim and Oksana Masters all won double gold, taking both their time trial and road race titles.
Masters, a 17-time Paralympic medalist in multiple sports, won her first road world titles in the women’s time trial and road race H5.
Here’s a look at her road race on Instagram:
And she tweeted about it:
My first Road Race of the season started with a lot of nerves & doubt and ended with becoming the 2022 @UCI_paracycling ROAD RACE WORLD CHAMPION 🌈🙈. #BaieComeau2022 #ShowTheWorld #TeamUSA #Paracycling
— Oksana Masters (@OksanaMasters) August 14, 2022
📸 @cbgphoto | USOPC pic.twitter.com/0CjH2HyBfD
Bosco, a two-time Paralympic medalist, took to Twitter to celebrate her victories in the time trial and road race C4. Bosco won a pair of bronze medals at the Paralympic Games 2016 Rio but missed the Paralympic Games last year in Tokyo due to an injury. She went undefeated in international competition this year.
“This means even more to me after the storm of last year, and in a place with significance with it being where I participated in and won a bronze at my first World Championships,” she said.
This 🌈 means even more to me after the storm of last year, and in a place with significance with it being where I participated in and won a bronze at my first World Championships. ❤️🔥#chasedarainbow https://t.co/hyyVJkNSrO
— Samantha Bosco PLY (@sammiecranks) August 12, 2022
And here’s a look at three medal winners in Baie-Comeau:
Shine bright like a rainbow 🌈🌈
— U.S. Paralympics Cycling (@usparacycling) August 12, 2022
Team USA grabbed THREE more medals on the second day of time trial competition.
READ MORE: https://t.co/bq8KFSNmVY#BaieComeau2022 x #TeamUSA pic.twitter.com/dfGWfw15o8
Brim, a 24-year-old newbie from Lowell, Michigan, was relying on the magical powers of the rainbow jersey prior to her run in the women’s road race H2 at the world championships. She had already won a world title in the time trial in her world championship debut.
And, yes, she won the road race, too.
Brim, a native of Lowell, Michigan, is four-for-four in international racing since being named to the national team in July.
“Every race and every domestic race I’ve done in the Para-cycling world, I just feel like I’m stuck in a little daydream,” Brim told TeamUSA.org.
Read about Kate’s journey here.
And here’s the crazy photo.
Travis Gaertner, a two-time Paralympic gold medalist in wheelchair basketball before switching over to cycling, went flying into a pile of tires during a mishap in his road race at the world championships.
“I did a full 360 flip as it’s my right arm that has two small fractures and my left arm is fine,” he posted on Instagram. “Thank the Lord I’m ok and only have the two small fractures in my elbow and wrist. I’ll be even more gimpy for a bit which is second to worse to missing out on the rest of that race.”
“Pretty awesome pic though!”
Pancakes, Board Games And Chatter
It’s not all about the biking, as 2020 Paralympian and eight-time world championships medalist Clara Brown reminds us in a post to her Instagram account. It’s about the friendships.
“Genuinely very grateful for the teammate bonding moments that came about due to a lack of wifi and a quiet surrounding town,” Brown wrote of her time in Baie-Comeau. “From a team pancake breakfast to endless board games, and all the deep chats in between, the motel #vanlife made this my favorite @usparacycling road trip to date. Thnks 4 the mems Canada.”
Brown won gold and silver medals in Quebec.
Schooldays For The Twins
While two-time Paralympian Jamie Whitmore was off in Canada racing in a world championships, the kids were at home for the start of school.
“In typical fashion I’m away racing on the first day of school!!” Whitmore posted on Instagram. “I remember being gone on their first day of kindergarten and FaceTiming with them as they walked into their classrooms. Here I am 8 years later calling them from Canada before I head out to ride the course and they start 7th grade!!”
Daughter Helps Dad
Kyle Pitman, a member of the U.S. Paralympics Cycling National Team, doesn’t dare leave on a trip without getting a stuffed animal from his daughter, Greer.
So, Pittman was joined for his trip to Quebec, Canada, for the recent world cup and world championship events, by Grover of Sesame Street fame.
“It helps a lot to have a friend like this for the world cup and world championships, Greer is right,” Pittman told USParaCycling.org. “But, really, how can I go wrong when I have support like this from home? All I have to do is go out and compete. I’ve got a great family, a great team around me, so this is a wonderful situation to be in.”
Read more about Kyle, twins Greer and Jack, and Grover, here.
Paul D. Bowker #
Paul D. Bowker has been writing about Olympic sports since 1996, when he was an assistant bureau chief in Atlanta. He is a freelance contributor to USParaCycling.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.