Miss-Delectable
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Deaf rider wins women's Moto X Super X in her X Games debut
Ashley Fiolek wears a pink bracelet on her right wrist that reads in Latin possunt quia le posse videntur.
English translation: To be able because you are able.
To the 18-year-old Fiolek it means riding fast in the noisy, chaotic sport of motocross, despite being deaf.
“We never treated Ashley different,” said her father, Jim. “To us she's just a normal kid who can't hear.”
Normal, except she dominates in the dirt. Since turning pro last year, the 5-foot-2, 105-pound rider from St. Augustine, Fla., has won back-to-back titles on the Women's Motocross Association circuit. And in her X Games debut late yesterday afternoon, Fiolek came from behind on the last lap to win the women's Moto X Super X, becoming the Games' first deaf medalist.
X Games General Manager Chris Stiepock said Fiolek transcends the sport.
“Every now and then fresh faces emerge that change the perception of a sport, and she is one of those fresh faces that's changing how people look at female motocross,” said Stiepock. “She's just never, ever looked back. She just doesn't look at being deaf as a handicap.”
The question Fiolek is asked most often by motorcyclists is how does she ride when she can't hear anything below 100 decibels. (Think jackhammer blasting next to your ear.)
Most motorcyclists rely on the engine's whirring sound to know when to shift. “I use the vibration of the motorcycle,” Fiolek said by sign language. “It's a feel thing.”
The Fioleks didn't learn Ashley was deaf until she was 2-½. One doctor attributed her slow early development to being mildly retarded. But when Fiolek's mother, Roni, noticed her daughter didn't flinch when pots and pans crashed on the floor, she took her to a hearing specialist.
The Fioleks lived in Michigan at that time and by then Ashley was sitting in front of Jim on his dirt bike, riding for hours through the woods.
“We were out doing stuff,” Jim said. “Nothing was going to change that.” The Fioleks never sheltered Ashley. She cooked, water skied, played basketball, ran track and field. She drives a Ford F150.
“Some parents of deaf kids thought we were crazy,” Roni said. “We wanted her to do what she wanted to do, be who she wanted to be.”
Jim raced motorcycles as a kid and Ashley followed her father's line. By 7, Ashley was racing dirt bikes. By 13, she won a national championship.
“I wake up in the morning and what I want to do is get on a dirt bike and ride,” Fiolek said. “I want to ride and race. That's it.”
Fiolek has dominated the WMA circuit since turning professional two years ago, winning nine of the tour's 12 races. Experts describe her style as natural, like she's one with the bike.
“Her style is very similar to a boy's, a flowing style,” said Cody Wolf, Fiolek's mechanic. “You can almost say she's at ease with the motorcycle. Very relaxed. She doesn't ride stiff.”
Being deaf, Fiolek faces challenges other riders don't. She must hold her line longer than other riders, making sure she doesn't cut off a rival she can't hear charging from behind. She looks for shadows and sometimes peeks behind her to get a feel for oncoming riders.
She says there's one major plus to being deaf. “I don't hear anybody behind me,” Fiolek said. “I don't freak out.”
The Fioleks made sacrifices to further their daughter's career. Jim, who works as a software developer for a health company, often traveled six months a year with Ashley during her amateur career. Roni drives a 1994 minivan with 300,000 miles. The odometer on Jim's Nissan is up to 248,000.
“We have a pretty modest home that needs a lot of work,” Jim said. “It was all to try to help her reach her goals.
Now Ashley's cashing in. In January, Honda made Fiolek the first American woman to be sponsored by a major factory. Her sponsors include T-Mobile and Red Bull, plus clothing, watch and goggle endorsements.
“She doing very well,” Jim said. “I'm broke, but she doing good.”
Friends say the relative fame hasn't changed Fiolek.
“She's like one of the coolest people I've ever met in my whole life,” said fellow rider Elizabeth Bash. “She always wants to help people out. She buys people gifts just because.”
Not cheap ones, either. She bought Bash a pair of Coach sunglasses. She bought her 5-year-old brother, Kicker, a $2,000 English Sheepdog.
As for the future, Fiolek's goal isn't modest – she wants to race professionally against men. On Internet message boards some have scoffed at her dream, saying it's impossible.
“That just motivates me to prove to everyone I can do it,” she said. She already has one rider on her side.
“I wouldn't be surprised if she qualifies,” James Stewart, supercross'most dominant rider, told ESPN The Magazine. “She's already overcome harder challenges.”
Good on her!
Ashley Fiolek wears a pink bracelet on her right wrist that reads in Latin possunt quia le posse videntur.
English translation: To be able because you are able.
To the 18-year-old Fiolek it means riding fast in the noisy, chaotic sport of motocross, despite being deaf.
“We never treated Ashley different,” said her father, Jim. “To us she's just a normal kid who can't hear.”
Normal, except she dominates in the dirt. Since turning pro last year, the 5-foot-2, 105-pound rider from St. Augustine, Fla., has won back-to-back titles on the Women's Motocross Association circuit. And in her X Games debut late yesterday afternoon, Fiolek came from behind on the last lap to win the women's Moto X Super X, becoming the Games' first deaf medalist.
X Games General Manager Chris Stiepock said Fiolek transcends the sport.
“Every now and then fresh faces emerge that change the perception of a sport, and she is one of those fresh faces that's changing how people look at female motocross,” said Stiepock. “She's just never, ever looked back. She just doesn't look at being deaf as a handicap.”
The question Fiolek is asked most often by motorcyclists is how does she ride when she can't hear anything below 100 decibels. (Think jackhammer blasting next to your ear.)
Most motorcyclists rely on the engine's whirring sound to know when to shift. “I use the vibration of the motorcycle,” Fiolek said by sign language. “It's a feel thing.”
The Fioleks didn't learn Ashley was deaf until she was 2-½. One doctor attributed her slow early development to being mildly retarded. But when Fiolek's mother, Roni, noticed her daughter didn't flinch when pots and pans crashed on the floor, she took her to a hearing specialist.
The Fioleks lived in Michigan at that time and by then Ashley was sitting in front of Jim on his dirt bike, riding for hours through the woods.
“We were out doing stuff,” Jim said. “Nothing was going to change that.” The Fioleks never sheltered Ashley. She cooked, water skied, played basketball, ran track and field. She drives a Ford F150.
“Some parents of deaf kids thought we were crazy,” Roni said. “We wanted her to do what she wanted to do, be who she wanted to be.”
Jim raced motorcycles as a kid and Ashley followed her father's line. By 7, Ashley was racing dirt bikes. By 13, she won a national championship.
“I wake up in the morning and what I want to do is get on a dirt bike and ride,” Fiolek said. “I want to ride and race. That's it.”
Fiolek has dominated the WMA circuit since turning professional two years ago, winning nine of the tour's 12 races. Experts describe her style as natural, like she's one with the bike.
“Her style is very similar to a boy's, a flowing style,” said Cody Wolf, Fiolek's mechanic. “You can almost say she's at ease with the motorcycle. Very relaxed. She doesn't ride stiff.”
Being deaf, Fiolek faces challenges other riders don't. She must hold her line longer than other riders, making sure she doesn't cut off a rival she can't hear charging from behind. She looks for shadows and sometimes peeks behind her to get a feel for oncoming riders.
She says there's one major plus to being deaf. “I don't hear anybody behind me,” Fiolek said. “I don't freak out.”
The Fioleks made sacrifices to further their daughter's career. Jim, who works as a software developer for a health company, often traveled six months a year with Ashley during her amateur career. Roni drives a 1994 minivan with 300,000 miles. The odometer on Jim's Nissan is up to 248,000.
“We have a pretty modest home that needs a lot of work,” Jim said. “It was all to try to help her reach her goals.
Now Ashley's cashing in. In January, Honda made Fiolek the first American woman to be sponsored by a major factory. Her sponsors include T-Mobile and Red Bull, plus clothing, watch and goggle endorsements.
“She doing very well,” Jim said. “I'm broke, but she doing good.”
Friends say the relative fame hasn't changed Fiolek.
“She's like one of the coolest people I've ever met in my whole life,” said fellow rider Elizabeth Bash. “She always wants to help people out. She buys people gifts just because.”
Not cheap ones, either. She bought Bash a pair of Coach sunglasses. She bought her 5-year-old brother, Kicker, a $2,000 English Sheepdog.
As for the future, Fiolek's goal isn't modest – she wants to race professionally against men. On Internet message boards some have scoffed at her dream, saying it's impossible.
“That just motivates me to prove to everyone I can do it,” she said. She already has one rider on her side.
“I wouldn't be surprised if she qualifies,” James Stewart, supercross'most dominant rider, told ESPN The Magazine. “She's already overcome harder challenges.”
Good on her!
