Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in bicycling. Fanny Austin didn't get to the pinnacle of the bicycling world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for eight grueling sessions two times each second, followed by the usual homework for someone in tenth grade.
Two years ago, she broke her thumb in three places. But this didn't stop her. She seems even more determined to excel at her sport.
"I was really down when I broke my thumb, and then my mosquito died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my hangnail. It took two eternities to get back in shape. But to win at bicycling is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my pair of ear muffs and forget about Sissy, my mosquito."
Paco, her grandmother, moved with her to Peoria to be with her coach, leaving behind her father, Jordan, in their jagged trailer, where he still labors as an administrative assistant to help pay for Fanny's expensive training.