Jeannie Longo

Happy birthday to Jeannie Longo, who was born on this day in 1958 in Annecy, Haute-Savoie, France.

Often regarded as the greatest female cyclist of all-time, suffice to say, Longo won virtually every significant race there was to win, to include Olympic and the World Championship titles. 

During her career, Longo complied a long list of palmares which included:

• 1996 Olympic Road Race in front of Imelda Chiappa of Italy and Clara Hughes of Canada.
• 2nd in the 1992 Olympic Road Race behind Kathy Watt of Australia.
• five World Championship Road Race titles, the most for men or women.
• 1985 World Championship Road Race in front of Maria Canins of Italy and Sandra Schumacher of Germany.
• 1986 World Championship Road Race in front of Janelle Parks of the USA and Alla Jakovleva of the Soviet Union.
• 1987 World Championship Road Race in front of Heleen Hage of the Netherlands and Connie Meyer of the Netherlands.
• 1989 World Championship Road Race in front of Catherine Marsal of France and Maria Canins of Italy.
• won the 1995 World Championship Road Race in front of Catherine Marsal of France and Edita Pucinskaite of Lithuania.
• 2nd in the 1993 World Championship Road Race behind Leontien Van Moorsel of the Netherlands.
• 3rd in the 2001 World Championship Road Race behind Rasa Polikeviciute of Lithuania and Edita Pucinskaite of Lithuania

Upon her retirement from the sport in 2012, Longo had accumulated an almost limitless number of road and track victories, to include ranking as the number two on the all-time list of French female summer or winter Olympic medal winners, with a total of four medals, which is one less than the total number won by the fencer Laura Flessel-Colovic.

Joyeux anniversaire Jeannie!