Dan Atherton

Dan Atherton racing in the Dual Slalom at the 2009 Sea Otter Classic
Personal information
Full name	Daniel Simon Atherton
Nickname	Dan, AFFY
Born	(1982-01-25) January 25, 1982 (age 30) Salisbury, England, United Kingdom
Height	155cm
Weight	53kg
Team information
Current team	Conehead's Cone's
Discipline	BMX & MTB
Role	Rider
Rider type	DH & 4X
Professional team(s)
2007–	Animal Commençal
Major wins
GBR 4X National Champion (1 Wins) UCI 4X World Cup (1 Wins)
Infobox last updated on 18 May 2009

Daniel Simon Atherton, known as Dan Atherton (born 25 January 1982, near Salisbury) is a professional racing cyclist specialising in downhill and four cross mountain bike racing, and is a former national champion of Great Britain. He began riding BMX at the age of 15 and mountain biking a year later.^[1]

Since 2007, Dan has been one third of the Animal Commençal racing team, alongside brother Gee Atherton and sister Rachel Atherton.

Dan, along with Rachael and Gee, is the star of the web series "The Atherton Project" a series which follows their day to day lives.

In 2010 Dan broke a vertebrae in his neck whilst training and has missed half of the season including the World Championships.

Palmarès[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• athertonracing.co.uk
• An interview with the Athertons, Steve Thomas, Cycling News, 6 September 2007
• Silverfish Atherton Racing Profiles

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Gee Atherton

Personal information
Full name	George David Atherton
Nickname	Gee, GeeMan
Born	(1985-02-26) 26 February 1985 (age 27) Salisbury, England, United Kingdom
Height	185 cm
Weight	85 kg
Team information
Current team	GT
Discipline	MTB
Role	Rider
Rider type	DH & 4X
Professional team(s)
2001 2002–2003 2004 2007–2011 2011–	Animal Animal/Muddy Fox Muddy Fox Animal Commençal GT Bicycles
Major wins
GBR DH National Champion (1 Wins) EUR DH European Champion (1 Wins) UCI DH World Champion (1 Wins) UCI DH World Cup (5 Wins) UCI 4X World Cup (1 Wins)
Medal record Competitor for  United Kingdom Mountain Bike World Championships Silver 2007 Fort William Downhill Gold 2008 Val Di Sol Downhill
Infobox last updated on 19 May 2009

Gee Atherton in the Elite Men's Dual Slalom race at the 2009 Sea Otter Classic in Laguna Seca, CA.

George David Atherton, known as Gee Atherton (born 26 February 1985, near Salisbury, England) is a professional racing cyclist specialising in downhill and four cross mountain bike racing, and is a multiple national champion, multiple World Cup winner, and 2010 downhill World Cup Champion.

Since 2007, Gee has been one third of the Animal Commençal racing team, alongside brother Dan Atherton and sister Rachel Atherton.

Gee, along with Rachael and Dan, is the star of the web series "The Atherton Project" a series which follows their day to day lives. In 2012 Gee will be racing for GT racing.

Gee appeared on the BBC's Top Gear (series 7), racing a Renault Clio down the streets of Lisbon and winning.^[1]

Palmarès[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• athertonracing.co.uk
• Atherton Racing Profiles, Silverfish
• George Atherton, Doug Cook, Descent World, 2004
• Gee Atherton Interview, British Cycling, 29 April 2006
• An interview with the Athertons, Steve Thomas, Cycling News, 6 September 2007
• Gee Atherton Wins Garbanzo Downhill, NSMB, 10 August 2008

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Micheal Day (b. October 9, 1984 in Tarzana, California USA) is a professional American "Current School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years are from 2002–Present. His nickname is a play on a common phrase. Mike Day's official Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) number, which was originally assigned to him by the American Bicycle Association (ABA)^[1] (not affiliated to the UCI), he requested for it from and is assigned it by the UCI for life regardless of how he does in a race season, is #365. With the exception of quadrennial leap years, that is the number of days in a calendar year. As a result, a play on his surname "365 Day" occurs from the common phrase "...365 days a year" (alternatively "..365 days per year"):

"When you turn pro, they always give you a number in the 300s," he said, "and with my name on the back, it said: 365 Day. Everyone talked about it, and I said, ‘That's it. That's going to be my number.' I'll pretty much wear it till I'm done racing."^[2]

On June 14, 2008 Mike Day won a place on the USA BMX Olympic Team by winning the Team Trial at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. This team will represent the USA in the first ever BMX racing competition in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China with Teammates Kyle Bennett, Donny Robinson, and Jill Kintner. As of August 20, he has made the Semi Finals in the 2008 Summer Olympics, winning both the Seeding Run time trials and was the overall winning of the three runnings of his Quarter Finals, sweeping all three. On August 22, Mike Day won the Silver medal in the Men's BMX Final at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Since the Men's Final was raced after the Women's Final in the sport's debut games, he is the second American ever to win a medal. However, he is also the highest placing. His teammates Jill Kintner and Donny Robinson both won Bronze medals. Kyle Bennett did not qualify for the Finals. Maris Strombergs of Latvia was the winner of the Gold medal.

Racing career[link]

Career factory and major bike shop sponsors[link]

Amateur/Junior Men[link]

• Answer Products, Inc.: 1994-through 1999
• Sunland Cycles: 1999-?
• Staats Bicycles/Fly Racing: 2002-December 2006. He would turn pro with this sponsor.

Professional/Elite Men[link]

• Staats Bicycles/Fly Racing: 2002-December 2006
• GT (Gary Turner) Bicycles/Red Bull January 1, 2007–Present. His first race with GT was the ABA Silverdollar National in Reno, Nevada on January 6, 2007^[13]

Career bicycle motocross titles[link]

Amateur/Junior Men[link]

National Bicycle League (NBL)

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

• 1994 9 Expert US Open West Champion
• 1996 11 Boys and 11 Cruiser World Cup Champion (double)

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*

Professional/Elite Men[link]

National Bicycle League (NBL)

• 2005 Elite Men National Elite Champion
• 2005 National No.1 Pro

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

• 2002 "A" Pro Redline Cup West Champion
• 2005 "AA" Pro 2nd place World Champion

ESPN Extreme (X) Games

• 2003 Pro Bronze Medalist (Dirt Jumping)

USA Cycling:

• Won the Olympic Team Trials at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California on June 14, 2008. He had taken the qualifying event in 1-2-1 fashion with the final moto canceled due to the mathematical impossibility of anyone to catch him in points. Therefore it was reasoned that it would be too much of a risk for racers with no hope of making the team crashing into the winner who had made the team. Day finished with 32 points. This victory automatically slotted him onto the United States BMX Olympic team with Kyle Bennett and Jill Kintner. Later, the second place competitor, Donny Robinson (21 points) was selected by Mike King on June 24, 2008 for the fourth and final Team berth. In the individual time trial held earlier in the day Day's winning time was 36.60 seconds. Day had trained for six months straight ever since the Olympic Training Center track, a $500,000 USA Cycling and United States Olympic Committee funded exact duplicate of the BMX competition track in Beijing, China was built in January by Tom Ritzenthaler.^[14] He had moved into the facilities dormitories in January and opted out of competing in the UCI BMX World Championships in Beijing, China which were held two weeks prior.^[15]

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*

• 2004 Elite Men Silver Medal World Cup Champion
• 2005 Elite Men Silver Medal World Champion
• 2006 Elite Men Bronze Medal World Champion
• 2007 Elite Men Supercross World Cup Champion

International Olympic Committee (IOC)

Games of the XXIX Olympiad (2008 Summer Olympics)

USA BMX Teammates: Kyle Bennett, Donny Robinson, Jill Kintner

Medal record
Competitor for  United States
BMX
Olympic Games
Silver	2008 Beijing	Men's BMX

Discipline: Men's BMX

Location: Laoshan BMX Field Beijing, China

Number of competitors: 32

Positions:

Event Results Wednesday August 20

Men's First Seeding Run‡: 36.127secs

Men's Second Seeding Run: 35.692secs

Seconds behind leader: 0.000 (First place)

Seeding Run leader: Mike Day  United States

Day advances to Quarterfinals†

Men's Quarter Finals (Overall after three motos Run 1): First place; Qualifies for Semi Final

Event Results Thursday August 21

Posponed due to rain. Rescheduled.

Event Results Friday August 22

Men's Semi Finals (Overall after three motos Run 1*):
First Place; Qualifies for Finals.

Men's Final (Medal Round; one run of Main**): Second Place. Silver medal.

Bronze medal winner: Donny Robinson  United States

Gold medal winner: Māris Štrombergs  Latvia

Independent Pro Series Championships and Invitational Races

• 2004 RM59 Tropical BMX Challenge Pro Champion

The Robbie Miranda 59 (RM59) Tropical BMX Challenge is a Invitational BMX exhibition race created and promoted by professional BMX racer Robbie Miranda (whose father is Puerto Rican^[16]) in Baceloneta, Puerto Rico. It is sanctioned by the Puerto Rican BMX Association (PRBMXA) for the local amateur racers who come out to race and see the BMX stars they only see in the BMX Press since no nationals are held by any major sanctioning body in Puerto Rico.

Notable accolades[link]

• Day is a 2005 NORA Cup winner.^[17]
• Day is a 2008 ABA Golden Crank winner for Pro of the Year.

BMX product lines[link]

• Fly Racing Mike Day Cruiser Handlebars.
• Fly Racing Mike Day Pro Handlebars.
• Fly Yo Moma Bars

Still images[link]

Current image of Mike Day
Current image of Mike Day
Current image of Mike Day

Significant injuries[link]

• None. Unusually, compared to other top professional racers, Mike Day hasn't had any serious injuries caused by BMX racing.

BMX press magazine interviews and articles[link]

• "Whats Up with Mike Day" BMX Plus! September 2005, Vol.28 No.9 pg.9
• "#1 on #1" BMX Plus! June 2006 Vol.29 Nol.6 pg.68 Mike Day and Bubba Harris interview each other

BMX magazine covers[link]

BMX Plus!:

• June 1997 Vol.20 No.6 in bottom insert. In top insert Dave Volker. In main image Brian Schmith (4) and Scott Yoquelet (23).

Ride BMX Magazine:

Snap BMX Magazine & Transworld BMX:

• January 2005 Vol.12 Iss.1 No.99 This was the very last issue of Transworld BMX published.

BMX World

Bicycles Today & BMX Today (the official NBL membership publication under two names):

ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer (the official ABA membership publication under three names):

End notes[link]

External links[link]

• The American Bicycle Association (ABA) Website.
• The National Bicycle League (NBL) Website.
• Expn.go.com 2003 bio
• Transworld.net March 12, 2004 interview
• teamusa.org article.

Saint Anne
Greek icon of Saint Anne and Mary, by Angelos Akotantos
Mother of the Virgin, Mystic, Maternal Heroine, Woman of Amram
Born	c. 1st century B.C.E.
Honored in	Christianity Islam Aglipayan Church
Feast	July 26 (Western calendar) and July 25 (Eastern calendar)
Attributes	Book, door, with Mary, Jesus or Joachim
Patronage	carpenters; childless people; equestrians; grandparents; homemakers/housewives; lace makers; lost articles; Fasnia(Tenerife); Mainar; Detroit; miners; mothers; moving house; old-clothes dealers; poverty; pregnancy; seamstresses; stablemen; sterility

Saint Anne (also Ann or Anna, from Hebrew Hannah חַנָּה, meaning "favor" or "grace") of David's house and line, was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ according to Christian and Islamic tradition. English Anne is derived from Greek rendering of her Hebrew name Hannah. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels or the Qur'an, and her name and that of her husband Joachim come only from New Testament apocrypha, of which the Protoevangelium of James, written perhaps around 150, seems to be the earliest that mentions them.

Church tradition[link]

The story bears a similarity to that of the birth of Samuel, whose mother Hannah had also been childless. Although Hanna receives little attention in the Western church prior to the late 12th century,^[1] dedications to Hanna in the Eastern church occur as early as the 6th century.^[2] In the Eastern Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, she is revered as Hanna. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Hanna, is ascribed the title Forbear of God, and both the Birth of Mary and the Dedication of Mary to the Temple are celebrated as two of the Twelve Great Feasts. The Dormition of Hanna is also a minor feast in the Eastern Church. In Protestant tradition it is held that Martin Luther chose to enter religious life as a monk after receiving heavenly aid from St. Anne.

Islamic view of Anne[link]

Anne (Arabic: Hannah) is also a revered woman in Islam and is recognized as a highly spiritual woman as well as the mother of Mary. The daughter of Faqud, Hannah was childless until her old age. She saw a bird feeding its young while sitting in the shade of a tree, which awakened her desire to have children of her own. She prayed for a child and eventually conceived. Her husband, known as Imran in the Qur'an, died before the child was born. Expecting the child to be male, Hannah vowed to dedicate him to isolation and the service in the Temple.^{[N 1][3][4]} However, Hannah bore a daughter instead, and she named her Mary. Her words ^{[N 2]} after the birth of Mary reflect her status as a great mystic. Hannah wanted a son, but she realized that the daughter was God's gift to her.^[3][4]

Legends[link]

Varying theologians have believed either that Joachim was Anne's only husband or that she was married thrice. Ancient belief, attested to by a sermon of St John Damascene, was that Anne married once. In late medieval times, legend held that Anne was married three times, first to Joachim, then to Clopas and finally to a man named Solomas and that each marriage produced one daughter: Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary of Clopas, and Mary Salomae, respectively.^[5] The sister of Saint Hanna was Sobe who was the mother of Saint Elizabeth.

Similarly, in the 4th century and then much later in the 15th century, a belief arose that Mary was born of Anne by virgin birth.^[6] Those believers included the 16th century Lutheran mystic Valentine Weigel who claimed Anne conceived Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. This belief was condemned as an error by the Catholic Church in 1677. Instead, the Church teaches that Mary was conceived in the normal fashion, but that she was miraculously preserved from original sin in order to make her fit to bear Christ. The conception of Mary free from original sin is termed the Immaculate Conception—which is frequently confused with the Virgin Birth or Incarnation of Christ.

In the fifteenth century, the Catholic cleric Johann Eck related in a sermon that St Anne's parents were named Stollanus and Emerentia. The Catholic Encyclopedia (1907) regards this genealogy as spurious.^[7]

Anne in art[link]

Fresco of Saint Anne in Serbian Orthodox church.

The iconographic subject of Joachim and Anne The Meeting at the Golden Gate fitted both views, and was a regular component of artistic cycles of the Life of the Virgin. The couple meet at the "Golden Gate" of Jerusalem and embrace. They are aware of Anne's pregnancy, of which they have been separately informed by an archangel. For those believing in the virgin birth of Mary, this moment stood for her conception, and the feast was celebrated on the same day as the Immaculate Conception. Art works representing the Golden Gate and the events leading up to it were influenced by the narrative in the widely read Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine. The Birth of Mary, the Presentation of Mary and the Marriage of the Virgin were usual components of cycles of the Life of the Virgin in which Anne is normally shown.

Anne is never shown as present at the Nativity of Christ, but is frequently shown with the infant Christ in various subjects. She is sometimes believed to be depicted in scenes of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple and the Circumcision of Christ but in the former case this likely reflects a misidentification through confusion with Anna the Prophetess. Anna is described in Luke's Gospel as a holy widow who recognizes Jesus as the Messiah at his Presentation, along with Simeon the Righteous and both frequently appear in artistic depictions of the story. There was a tradition that Anne went (separately) to Egypt and rejoined the Holy Family after their Flight to Egypt. Anne is not seen with the adult Christ, so was regarded as having died during the youth of Jesus.^[8] Anne is also shown as the matriarch of the Holy Kinship, the extended family of Jesus, a popular subject in late medieval Germany, some versions of these pictorial and sculptural depictions include Emerentia who was reputed in the 15th Century to be Anne's mother. In modern devotions, Anne and her husband are invoked for protection for the unborn.

Another typical subject has Anne teaching the Virgin Mary how to read (see gallery below).

Patronage[link]

Ann is the patron saint of the following places:^{[citation needed]} Detroit, Michigan;^[9] Brittany, France; Castelbuono, Sicily, Italy; Quebec and the Mi'kmaq peoples of Canada; Fasnia; Adjuntas, Puerto Rico; Norwich, Connecticut; Santa Ana Pueblo; Santa Ana, El Salvador; Jucuarán, El Salvador; Seama, New Mexico; Taos, New Mexico; Chiclana de la Frontera, Spain; Marsaskala; Tudela, Navarre; Philippines, where the National Shine of St. Anne is in the poblacion of Hagonoy, Bulacan,Santa Ana, Taguig City; Santana, São Paulo, Brazil; Saint Anne, Illinois; and places in Malaysia and South Vietnam. She is also the patron saint of horseback riders, housewives, grandmothers, cabinet makers, unmarried women, women in labor and miners.

Düren has been the main place of pilgrimage for Anne since 1506, when Pope Julius II decreed that her relics should be kept there.

Cities[link]

The city of Santa Ana, California was named in her honour. Many schools and places of worship are named after St Anne, the most famous being a parish church and primary school in Caversham, Reading.

Gallery[link]

• 

  Coptic, 8th century

• 

  German, 15th century. Anne holds Mary and Christ

• 

  German, 15th century, Legends of St Anne

• 

  Presentation of Mary at the Temple

• 

  German, 16th century. Relief of the St. Annes Head, Annakirche Dueren

• 

  Annunciation to Anne mosaic, 12th century, Chora Church, Istanbul

• 

  An Anna Selbdritt in the Cathedral Museum of the Church of Santiago Compostela

• 

  A Belgian Anna Selbdritt (labeled Ste Anne Trinitaire by the museum)

• 

  A Spanish Anna Selbdritt influenced ultimately by Greek "Hodegetria" icons

• AnnaSelbdrittMexico.jpg

  An Anna Selbdritt from Oaxaca, Mexico

• AnneGiuLungara.jpg

  St. Anne Teaching the Virgin to Read, Church of San Giuseppe alla Lungara, Rome

• 

  St. Anne Teaching the Virgin to Read, Church of St Andrew by the Wardrobe, London

• 

  St. Anne Teaching the Virgin to Read, Parish church of St.Ulrich in Ulrichsberg, 1722

See also[link]

• Anna (Bible)

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Saint Anne

• Saint Anne at Patron Saints Index

Wikisource has the text of the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia article St. Anne.

• Brief American Catholic article on "Sts. Joachim and Ann"
• "Anna, Grandmother of Jesus" by Claire Heartsong
• St. Anne page at Christian Iconography
• "Here Followeth the Nativity of Our Blessed Lady" from the Caxton translation of the Golden Legend
• The Protevangelium of James
• The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew

Rachel Atherton

Personal information
Full name	Rachel Laura Atherton
Nickname	Waynehead
Born	(1987-12-06) December 6, 1987 (age 24)  England  United Kingdom
Height	170 cm
Weight	65 kg
Team information
Current team	GT
Discipline	BMX & MTB
Role	Rider
Rider type	DH
Professional team(s)
2011-	GT
Major wins
GBR DH National Champion (2 Wins) EUR DH European Champion (2 Wins) UCI DH World Champion (1 Wins) UCI DH Junior World Champion (1 Wins) UCI DH World Cup (8 Wins) UCI DH World Cup Overall (1 Wins)
Medal record Competitor for  United Kingdom Mountain Bike Junior World Championships Gold 2005 Livigno Downhill Silver 2004 Les Gets Downhill World Championships Gold 2008 Val Di Sol Downhill Silver 2007 Fort William Downhill Silver 2011 Champery Downhill Bronze 2006 Rotorua Downhill
Infobox last updated on 4 September 2011

Rachel Laura Atherton (born 6 December 1987, near Salisbury) is a professional racing cyclist specialising in downhill mountain bike racing, and is a multiple national champion. She began riding BMX at the age of 8 and mountain biking at the age of 11.^[1] She was both Sunday Times' Sportswoman of the Year^[2] and BBC Midlands Junior Sportswoman of the Year^[3] in 2005, and then BBC Midlands Sportswoman of the Year in 2008.^[4]

Since 2007 Rachel Atherton has been part of the Animal Commençal race team along with brothers Dan Atherton and Gee Atherton.

In June 2008 Rachel Atherton became the first British woman to win the Elite UCI Downhill World Championship, defeating second placed Sabrina Jonnier by 11.99 seconds in the final.^[5]

Rachel Atherton was involved in an accident^[6] with a pickup truck whilst on a time trial training ride with brothers Dan and Gee in Santa Cruz, California, on January 18, 2009. She sustained a dislocated shoulder which, after later needing a nerve graft,^[7] ruled her out of the 2009 racing season, including the September World Championships in Canberra.^[8]

Palmarès[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• athertonracing.co.uk
• animalcommencal.com
• Interview: Rachel Atherton, Douglas Cook, Descent World, 2004
• An interview with the Athertons, Steve Thomas, Cycling News, 6 September 2007
• Silverfish Atherton Racing Profiles
• Rachel Atherton's bio