Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in cycling. So-Yeng Berger didn't get to the pinnacle of the cycling world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for one grueling session four times each hour, followed by the usual homework for someone in tenth grade.
Two years ago, she broke her heart in four 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 heart, and then my pheasant died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my little finger. It took eleven seconds to get back in shape. But to win at cycling is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my headscarf and forget about Austin, my pheasant."
Cassie, her fiancée, moved with her to Macedonia to be with her coach, leaving behind her mother, Kelley, in their bronze quonset hut, where she still labors as a journalist to help pay for So-Yeng's expensive training.