Mountain biking is a type of cycling where participants race off-road on bicycles on mountainous terrain, but with bicycles specially customized for the said terrain. Though it was never considered an Olympic event, it was a common practice used in the form of cyclocross to pass the time.
But in the early 1970s, a number of people and organizations began customizing bicycles for off-road use across the United States. The earliest documented mountain bike race was the so-called Repack Road, which took place in October 1976 in Fairfax, California.
By the end of the decade, customized bikes had become commercially available on the market. This also coined the term "mountain bikes" for customized bicycles, which were earlier called "klunkers."
In 1983, an association was formed to oversee the new sport in the USA, called the National Off-Road Bicycle Association (NORBA) and by the 1990s, the growing popularity of mountain biking became obvious, so the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) bought it under its wing; they further organized the UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships.
Mountain biking includes several disciplines, but cross-country is the only one that became an Olympic sport; it was approved by the IOC in 1993 and debuted at the 1996 Summer Olympics. A circuit or point-to-point course is used for multiple laps of the cross-country tournament.
The List of Olympic Medalists of Team USA in Cycling Mountain Bike
The United States is 14th out of 15 countries that have ever won a medal in mountain biking. In six Olympic Games, the United States earned two bronze medals. Susan DeMattei won the first at the 1996 Summer Olympics, while Georgia Gould won the second in 2012.
France and Switzerland are the leading countries, with six and ten medals, respectively, but the former has four golds in comparison to Switzerland's two. Followed by Italy in the third rank with a total of three medals.
The list of Olympic medalists for Team USA in mountain biking is as follows:
| Year | Event | Name | Medal |
| 1996 | Cross-Country, Women | Susan DeMattei | Bronze |
| 2012 | Cross-Country, Women | Georgia Gould | Bronze |
FAQ's On Olympic Medalists in Cycling Mountain Bike
A. Yes, Olympic mountain biking has been present on the Olympics schedule since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
A. The highest point in Paris, Elancourt Hill, features the 2024 Olympics mountain bike race.
A. Yes, the 2024 Paris Olympics will have mountain biking as one of its sports and will be held at Elancourt Hill in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France.
A. Yes, MTB, or mountain biking, has been an Olympic sport since 1993, when it was approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
A. Mountain biking is globally overseen by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).
A. Mountain biking includes a total of eight disciplines within it, but cross-country is the only one approved at the Olympics.
