Sheila Grace Young-Ochowicz (born October 14, 1950) is a retired American speed skater and track cyclist.
Young was a member of Wolverine Sports Club in the Detroit metropolitan area, which has produced three Olympic medalists since 1972.
Young's brother Roger also gained fame as a cyclist, winning seven national championships, gold at the 1975 Pan American Games in the team pursuit, and competing at the 1972 Summer Olympics.
[1] Jim and Sheila Ochowicz live in Palo Alto, California and have three children; Alex, Elli, and Kate.
Her world sprint speed skating championships in 1973 made her the first United States female athlete to accomplish that feat.
An overview of medals won by Young at important championships, listing the years in which she won each: Young competed at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo and saw her roommates Anne Henning and Dianne Holum win Olympic gold (Henning on the 500 m, as well as bronze on the 1,000 m, and Holum on the 1,500 m, as well as silver on the 3,000 m) – she herself finished fourth on the 500 m and seventeenth on the 1,000 m. In 1973, she became World Sprint Champion (a feat she would repeat in 1975 and 1976) and she skated two world records that year, becoming the first woman to skate the 500 m in less than 42 seconds.