Guy Allen 'Sudden Sam' Ermolenko (born November 23, 1960 Maywood,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

) is a former speedway rider. In 1993 he won the

Speedway World Championship The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official champions ...

in Pocking,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. He is the older brother of Charles 'Dukie' Ermolenko who also rode in the United Kingdom.

Early career

After originally showing an interest in

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competiti ...

, Ermolenko began riding in the Californian speedway circuit. As he wore red leathers, former World Champion Barry Briggs suggested the nickname of "The mad Russian" (Due to Sam's family roots) although it is believed this is not something Sam himself was keen on.

Coming to Europe

After some liberal success in California, Ermolenko moved over to the UK to race for the

Poole Pirates Poole Pirates (also known as Poole Speedway) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Poole, England, competing in the SGB Championship. The club have been the champions of the United Kingdom on ten occasions. Poole Speedway is promoted by ...

for the 1983

British League The British League was the main motorcycle speedway league in Britain from its formation in 1965 until 1995 when British speedway was restructured. It initially had a single division, with a second division starting in 1968 (which was renamed the ...

season. He soon become a big hit with fans in Dorset and was welcomed back in 1984. In 1985, he could not agree a deal to return to the UK so raced back home in California. He did however qualify for the World Final at Bradford's

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, is the home of Bradford Bulls Rugby League team. It has also been used by the Bradford Dukes motorcycle speedway, speedway team, BRISCA F1 and F2 stock cars, the Association football, footbal ...

and came within a whisker of winning the World Title, narrowly losing out after a run-off with Danish duo Hans Nielsen and (eventual winner)

Erik Gundersen Erik Gundersen (born 8 October 1959 in Esbjerg, Denmark) is a former motorcycle speedway rider in the late 1970s and 1980s. Gundersen is one of the most successful speedway riders of all time. He was the ...

. Ermolenko also rode for Västervik in the

Swedish elite league The Swedish Hockey League (officially SHL; sv, Svenska Hockeyligan) is a professional ice hockey league, and the highest division in the Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, a ...

1992-1998. He was top scorer for Västervik all 7 seasons.

Wolverhampton Wolves

In 1986 (and until 1995) Ermolenko returned to the UK to ride for the

Wolverhampton Wolves Wolverhampton Wolves are a British speedway team based in Wolverhampton, England. They are sponsored by Parry's International Travel, and signed a deal with owner Dave Parry (previous speedway rider for the Wolverhampton Wolves) for the 20 ...

in the British League. It was at Wolves that he established himself as a genuine World Class rider. He rode for Sheffield Tigers in 1996,

Belle Vue Aces The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway club, based in Manchester. The club hold the record of having won the top tier League championship 13 times. They currently compete in the SGB Premiership, racing at The National Speedway Stadium, wi ...

1997 before returning to Wolverhampton in 1998. In 1999 he helped Hull Vikings in their short stint in the top league before returning to Wolves in 2000 and 2001. In 2002 he had another spell at Belle Vue and at the age of 42 he again rejoined parent club Wolverhampton for the 2003 and 2004 season before spending his final season at Peterborough Panthers in 2005. He was trainer/manager of Reading Bulldogs in 2006 and was involved in the bid to get Leicester Lions back in the sport for the 2011 season. Ermolenko is the regular face of

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

speedway coverage, doing both league and GP meetings. He finished third in the World again in 1987 in Amsterdam (the first & only year when there was a two-day world final - Sam was leading after day one) and fourth in 1988 World Final in Vojens, Denmark. Many tipped Sam for World title honours in 1989, however a horrific injury whilst racing long track meant that he would sit out the 1989 & 1990 world title races. Ermolenko did however lead the USA victory in the World team cup in 1990. Bad luck and injury meant he missed out on individual world honours in 1991 & 1992. However he Captained Wolves to the British League title and was crowned British League Riders Champion in 1991 & won both the World Pairs & World Team cup as USA captain in 1992.

World Title year

The 1993 season was supposed to see the last of the 'one off' world finals before the Grand Prix was introduced (this was not the case and the GP system did not begin until 1995) Ermolenko was again one of the pre-season favourites. At the world final in Pocking, Germany, Sam had a fantastic start to the meeting winning his first three rides. In Heat 15 he met fellow title contender and three time World Champion Hans Nielsen. In the first staging of the race, Nielsen was adjudged to have knocked Ermolenko off his machine and was excluded. In the re-run Ermolenko shed a chain entering the first bend, however fellow American

Billy Hamill William Gordon Hamill (born 23 May 1970, in California, United States) is an American international motorcycle speedway rider. He is a former Speedway World Champion, winning the title in 1996. Career Early career Hamill began junior speedwa ...

ran into the back of him and the referee controversially ordered a re-run with the three remaining riders. Ermolenko won the third staging of the race and after gaining an unbeaten 12 points from his 4 rides, he could afford the luxury of coming last in his final outing and still be crowned World Champion. After his World final triumph, he again led the USA to Pairs and Team cup glory. At the latter, he beat his old enemy Nielsen in a last heat decider on the Dane's home

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

circuit. He was also unbeaten as the USA whitewashed England in a 3 match Test Series. It also looked as though he would again lead Wolves to league title triumph however a broken leg put an abrupt end to his season and this combined with injuries to other key members of the side, meant Wolves narrowly missed out on winning the league to the Belle Vue Aces.

Defending Champion

The 1994 season started late for Ermolenko as he recovered from the previous season's injuries. He did again qualify for the World Final (in Vojens) winning the Overseas title en route. However luck again deserted him and after a controversial exclusion in his opening ride, he scored only 6 points to finish way down the field. The season did finish on a high note though, as he led Wolves to a respectable third-place finish in the league and won the British League riders Championship again.

Grand Prix & later years

1995 saw the inaugural Grand Prix season. Ermolenko started his first Grand Prix campaign slowly but after a stronger finish to the season, he finished third in the World. 1996 was his second and final year in the GP series, finishing 1 place below automatic qualifying place for the next years series. He did though once again win the British League Riders Championship in 1996, this time representing Sheffield Tigers. He did attempt to qualify back into the GP's in future years but unfortunately never made it. He did however continue to figure prominently in the British league. A frequent and popular visitor to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

during his career where he often joined track commentators for meetings that he was unable to ride in because of injury, Ermolenko finished third in the inaugural Australian Masters Series in 1995 behind Tony Rickardsson (1st) and Simon Wigg (2nd). He improved to 2nd in 1996 behind reigning Australian Champion

Craig Boyce Craig Boyce (born 2 August 1967 in Sydney, Australia) was a motorcycle speedway rider who primarily rode for the Poole Pirates in the British Elite League. After retiring from riding, Boyce became manager of the Australian national team until ...

. He did not race in the 1997 series and raced a limited schedule to finish 7th in 1998. Already a three-time winner of the

Speedway World Team Cup The Speedway World Team Cup was an annual motorcycle speedway, speedway event held each year in different countries. The competition started in 1960 and was replaced with the Speedway World Cup in 2001. Format From 1960 until 1985 each team cons ...

(

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

and 1993), Ermolenko would win his fourth title with the USA in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. This would be the 6th and final World Championship of his career. In 2000, he won the Overseas Final. The final big win of his career came when he won the Scottish Open Championship in 2003 at the

Armadale Stadium Armadale Stadium is a motorcycle speedway and former greyhound racing stadium situated in the town of Armadale, West Lothian in Scotland. Stock car racing has also been held at the venue. Speedway It has been home to the Edinburgh Monarchs sp ...

. He joined other Americans such as Wilbur Lamoreaux (1939),

Greg Hancock Gregory Alan Hancock (born June 3, 1970 in Whittier, California) is an American former professional motorcycle speedway rider. As of 2023, he was one of only six riders to have won the individual World Championship four or more times. In addit ...

(1991 and 1992) and Bobby Ott (1995) as a winner of the event. As of 2014 no other American has won the Scottish Open. Ermolenko retired in after the 2005 season where he rode or the Peterborough Panthers. In 2006 he staged a Farewell meeting at Wolverhampton's

Monmore Green stadium Monmore Green Stadium is a greyhound racing and speedway stadium located in Wolverhampton. The stadium has private suites, a restaurant and a number of bars. The venue is owned and operated by the Ladbrokes Coral group. Speedway Motorcycle s ...

World Final Appearances

Individual World Championship

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

- 3rd - 13+1pts *

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

Chorzów Chorzów ( ; ; german: link=no, Königshütte ; szl, Chorzōw) is a city in the Silesia region of southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central cities of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – a metropolis with a population ...

Silesian Stadium Silesian as an adjective can mean anything from or related to Silesia. As a noun, it refers to an article, item, or person of or from Silesia. Silesian may also refer to: People and languages *Silesians, inhabitants of Silesia, either a West Sla ...

- 7th - 9pts * 1987 -

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

- 3rd - 24+2pts * 1988 -

Vojens Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Speedway Center - 4th - 12pts *

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Ullevi Ullevi, sometimes known as Nya Ullevi (, ''New Ullevi''), is a multi-purpose stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but since then has also hosted the World Allround Speed Skating Championships six times; the ...

- 7th - 9pts *

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, r ...

- 8th - 7pts * 1993 - Pocking, Rottalstadion - Winner - 12pts *

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

Vojens Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Speedway Center - 13th - 6pts

World Pairs Championship

- Pocking, Rottalstadion (with Kelly Moran) - 2nd - 46+4pts (23) * 1987 -

Pardubice Pardubice (; german: Pardubitz) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 89,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monum ...

, Svítkov Stadion (with Kelly Moran) - 3rd - 36pts (18) * 1988 -

(with Shawn Moran) - 3rd - 39pts (16) *

Lonigo Lonigo is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, northern Italy, its population counts around 16,400 inhabitants.Source: ISTAT - Bilancio demografico al 31/12/200 In its ''frazione'' of Bagnolo is the Villa Pisani, a Renaissanc ...

Pista Speedway The Pista Olimpia Terenzano is a 4,000-capacity motorcycle stadium in the Terenzano Province of Udine. The stadium is situated south of Udine and north east of Pozzuolo del Friuli. The stadium has been the home of the World Championship round kno ...

(with

Ronnie Correy Ronnie Dean Correy (born November 8, 1966 in Bellflower, California) is an American international motorcycle speedway rider. He is a former World Pairs Champion, winning the title in 1992. Career summary Correy first rode in the UK for the Wo ...

) - Winner - 23+3pts (9) * 1993 -

Vojens Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Speedway Center (with

) - 2nd - 23pts (9)

World Team Cup

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporat ...

, Veterans Memorial Stadium (with Shawn Moran /

Bobby Schwartz Robert Benjamin 'Bobby' Schwartz (born August 10, 1956) is an American professional speedway rider. He became World Pairs Champion with Bruce Penhall in 1981 and Dennis Sigalos in 1982. Career Born in Santa Barbara, California, Schwartz was i ...

/ John Cook / Lance King) – 2nd – 35pts (3) *

- Göteborg,

Vojens Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Speedway Center,

(with

/ Shawn Moran / Lance King / Rick Miller) - 2nd - 76pts (22) * 1987 - Fredericia, Fredericia Speedway,

, Brandon Stadium (with Shawn Moran / Lance King / Rick Miller / Kelly Moran) - 3rd - 93pts (20) * 1988 -

, Veterans Memorial Stadium (with Lance King / Shawn Moran / Kelly Moran / Rick Miller) - 2nd - 32pts (13) *

, Svítkov Stadion - Winner - 37pts (11) *

Vojens Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Speedway Center - 3rd - 28pts (9) *

- Kumla, Kumla Speedway - Winner - 39pts (10) * 1993 -

, Brandon Stadium - Winner - 40pts (13) *

Brokstedt Brokstedt is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of ...

, Holsteinring Brokstedt - 5th - 17pts (12) *

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with mor ...

Polonia Bydgoszcz Stadium Polonia may refer to: * Poland, in Latin Places * Polonia Maior or Greater Poland, a historical region of Poland * Polonia Minor or Lesser Poland, a historical region of Poland * Polonia, Manitoba, Canada * Polonia, Texas, United States * Pol ...

- 3rd - 19pts (9) *

Vojens Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Speedway Center - Winner - 28pts (0 - Reserve) *

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, Svítkov Stadion - 3rd - 29pts (16) *

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, Brandon Stadium - 3rd - 35pts (16)

Speedway Grand Prix results

World Longtrack Championship

One Day Finals

* 1988 -

Scheeßel Scheeßel (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Scheeßl'') is a municipality in the district of Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Wümme, approx. 10 km northeast of Rotenburg, 45 km east of Bremen, and 70 km sou ...

(11th) 13pts

Since retirement

Sam worked for

in the UK as a trackside reporter and occasionally inside the studio. He also had a spell helping out the Reading Bulldogs off the track in 2006 when they finished runners-up in the Elite League. He is now tuning engines for riders as well his Sky TV work and was the main well known name behind the rebirth of Leicester Speedway for 2011 but all that collapsed in September 2010 and has moved onto other projects and now nothing to do with the Leicester set up.

References

Works cited

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ermolenko, Sam 1960 births Living people American speedway riders Individual Speedway World Champions Speedway World Pairs Champions Polonia Bydgoszcz riders Peterborough Panthers riders Poole Pirates riders Wolverhampton Wolves riders Sheffield Tigers riders Hull Vikings riders American expatriate sportspeople in Poland Expatriate speedway riders in Poland People from Maywood, California Individual Speedway Long Track World Championship riders