Ashley Fiolek Wins Gold at Women’s Moto X Super X at the Home Depot Center
Yvonne McAvoy
LadyMoto Content Editor
Ashley Fiolek, deaf since birth, couldn’t hear the roar of the crowd as she crossed the finish line in first place to take the gold medal in the Women’s Moto X Super X Final Saturday afternoon.
Ten riders competed in one heat of six laps on a hard packed, slick track. Fiolek, the favored rider, began with a rough start out of the gate but quickly worked her way into second place after a few corners and stayed seconds behind Jessica Patterson. A brief battle ensued as Ashley attempted to pass Patterson in every corner.
As they came into the last lap, Ashley made her move slipping into the inside of a right hander then drifting wide to take the lead from Patterson. "I knew it was white flag, I knew I had to hurry," Fiolek said. "I got out front and just wanted to stay steady." Ashley crossed the line with a time of 6:12:472 with Patterson finishing barely a few seconds behind her with a time of 6:15:818.
Ashley took the gold medal becoming the Games' first deaf medalist. Patterson earned the silver and Elizabeth Bash won the bronze.
Women’s Moto X was first introduced at the X Games in 2008. This past Saturday, only in its second year, it was able to secure a prime time television spot on ESPN, the highest billing a woman's competition has received at X games.
X Games 15 Moto X Super X Women's Results:
1. Ashley Fiolek, 6:12.472
2. Jessica Patterson, 6:15.818
3. Elizabeth Bash, 6:37.318
4. Sherri Cruse, 6:38.577
5. Jacqueline Strong, 6:59.005
6. Tarah Gieger, 7:08.202
7. Sayaka Kaneshiro, 7:11.212
8. Penni Cyrus, 7:21.079
9. April Zastrow, 10:32.359
10. Tatum Sik, 16:06.926
