Dubnicoff, Tanya

Sport:
cycling

Country Represented:
Canada

Years Competed:
1992, 1996, 2000

Olympic Info:
One of the best female sprint cyclists in the world for over a decade, Dubnicoff participated in three Olympiads for Canada. At the 1992 Barcelona Games, she competed in the 1,000-meter individual sprint event and finished in fifth place in the preliminaries (11.773). She went on to win her first quarterfinal race over Galina Enukhina of the Unified Team (former Soviet Union), and Olga Maria Sacasa Cruz of Nicaragua (who was disqualified).

In her two other quarterfinal races, however, Tanya was defeated by Annette Neumann of Germany. However, Tanya did qualify for the 5th-8th place final race, where she placed second and officially finished in sixth place overall in the competition.

Dubnicoff returned to the Olympics twice more and finished in eighth place in the individual sprint competition at the 1996 Atlanta Games. She then competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and finished in seventh place in the individual sprint, and eighth place in the women's time trial (35.486).

Career Highlights:
In the 1990s, Dubnicoff was one of the top track cyclists in the world. A four-time gold medalist at the Pan American Games (1991, 1995, and 1999 in the sprint and 1999 in the 500-meter), Tanya emerged onto the world stage by winning the sprint at the 1993 World Championships. Following her triumph, she dominated Canadian cycling, winning the National Championship in the sprint every year between 1991-2000 and in the 500-meter from 1993-1999. Tanya won the women's sprint competition at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, finished in second place in the women's sprint at the 1999 World Championships, and in third place at the 1998 Worlds.

Following the 2000 Olympics, Dubnicoff decided to retire from competitive cycling. After winning a total of 16 Canadian championships during her illustrious career, she said, "I had won every major competition. Sydney was my last chance to bring home an Olympic medal, but it didn't happen. It was frustrating because I had worked so hard, but I couldn't see myself still training like that for another four years. I decided it was time to move on to other things." Dubnicoff opened a cafe and helps young cyclists train.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. Nov. 7, 1969

Origin:
Winnipeg, Manitoba

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