Guy Allen Ermolenko (born November 23, 1960 Maywood, California) is a former motorcycle speedway rider.
[2] After originally showing an interest in motocross, Ermolenko began riding in the Californian speedway circuit.
After some liberal success in California, Ermolenko moved over to the United Kingdom to race for the Poole Pirates for the 1983 British League season.
[4] In 1986, Ermolenko returned to Britain after joining the Wolverhampton Wolves for the 1986 British League season, he established himself as one of the world's leading riders and averaged 9.72.
His form did get better and he finished top scorer for Wolves again in the 1990 British League season[3] and in September helped the USA win the 1990 Speedway World Team Cup.
[11] The 1993 season was supposed to see the last of the 'one off' world finals before the Grand Prix was introduced (this was not the case and the GP system did not begin until 1995) Ermolenko was again one of the pre-season favourites.
Ermolenko won the third staging of the race and after gaining an unbeaten 12 points from his 4 rides, he could afford the luxury of coming last in his final outing and still be crowned World Champion.
It also looked as though he would again lead Wolves to league title triumph however a broken leg put an abrupt end to his season and this combined with injuries to other key members of the side, meant Wolves narrowly missed out on winning the league to the Belle Vue Aces.
He rode for Sheffield Tigers in 1996 and won the Premier League Riders Championship at Odsal Stadium on 19 October.
Already a three-time winner of the Speedway World Team Cup (1990, 1992 and 1993), Ermolenko would win his fourth title with the USA in 1998.
[3] In between, he won the 2003 Scottish Open, joining other Americans such as Wilbur Lamoreaux (1939), Greg Hancock (1991 and 1992) and Bobby Ott (1995) as a winner of the event.
Sam worked for Sky Sports in the United Kingdom as a trackside reporter and occasionally inside the studio.