Judith "Judy" Marie Flannery ( – April 2, 1997) was an American

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...

who won six consecutive US national championships between 1991 and 1996. She died after a collision with a car while training in 1997.

Early life

Flannery attended a Catholic school, and was nicknamed "Saint Judy, Our Lady of Perpetual Motion." Flannery studied at the

College of New Rochelle The College of New Rochelle (CNR) was a private Catholic college with its main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded as the College of St. Angela by Mother Irene Gill, OSU of the Ursuline Order as the first Catholic women's college in ...

, where she completed a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

. She then worked at the

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a Private university, private Medical research, biomedical Research university, research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and pro ...

, where she met her future husband Dennis Flannery. He was an attorney, and later served in the Army, and the couple married in 1964. In 1972, the couple moved to

Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the colloquial name of an area that includes a town, several incorporated villages, and an unincorporated census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland; and one adjoining neighborhood in northwest Washington, D ...

, and they had five children.

Triathlon career

At the age of 38, Flannery took up running. Aged 47, she took up triathlon. Between 1991 and 1996, Flannery won six consecutive US age group national championships, and in 1997 she finished second in the US age group national championship. She also won four world age-group triathlon championships. She also competed at the

Ironman World Championship The Ironman World Championship is a triathlon held annually in Hawaii, United States from 1978 to 2022, with no race in 2020 and an additional race in 1982. It is owned and organized by the World Triathlon Corporation. It is the annual culminat ...

, finishing second in her age category. Her last triathlon was in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

a week before her death. In March 1997, Flannery was named the Master Female Triathlete of the Year; aged 57, she was the oldest women ever to receive the award. In the same year, Flannery set up the United States Triathlon Women’s Commission. In 2008, she was posthumously inducted into the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame.

Death and tributes

On April 2, 1997, Flannery was on a training ride with friends when she was involved in a collision with a car. The car was being driven by an unlicensed 16-year-old, later named as Timothy Rinehart, and Flannery was hit head-on. She died later that day. Rinehart was later given a community service order. In 1997, the USA Triathlon Women's Committee set up the Spirit of Judy Flannery Award in memory of Flannery, and in the same year, friends of Flannery rode the

Race Across America The Race Across America, or RAAM, is an ultra-distance road cycling race held across the United States that started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race. RAAM is one of the longest annual endurance events in the world. All entrants must prov ...

under the name "Team Jude Flannery". Flannery had planned to ride the race in order to raise money for domestic violence awareness. In November 1997, Flannery's cycling partner Cary Bland, who had been injured in the collision that resulted in Flannery's death, attempted to sue the driver for $1 million.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flannery, Judy 1997 deaths American female triathletes Road incident deaths in Maryland College of New Rochelle alumni Mercy University alumni Rockefeller University faculty