Louise Armaindo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Louise or Louisa Brisebois or Brisbois 1861 |
| Died | 1900 |
| Occupation(s) | strongwoman, trapeze artist, competitive walker, and high-wheel cyclist |
Louise Armaindo, born either Louise or Louisa Brisebois or Brisbois (1861–1900), was a Canadian strongwoman, trapeze artist, competitive walker, and high-wheel cyclist. [1] [2] Throughout the last decades of the 19th century, she was known as "the champion female bicycle rider of the world." [3]
Louise Armaindo was born Louise or Louisa Brisebois or Brisbois in 1861 in a small community near Montreal, Canada East. [1]
Armaindo was trained by Canadian athlete Tom Eck, [4] who also worked as her manager and promoter and eventually became her husband. [5] The two met in Chicago in the late 1870s, when Armaindo was performing as a strongwoman and becoming interested in pedestrianism, competitive endurance walking. [1]: 29-31 With Eck as manager, Armaindo became a pedestrienne, competing and giving exhibitions in small American towns for pay. [1]: 15
Around this time, many pedestriennes began to race high-wheel bicycles, including Armaindo. [1]: 15 She soon became a successful bicycle racer, competing against men, women, and horses.
In 1882, Armaindo raced American cyclist John Prince over 50 miles. She was given a five-mile head start, but the two eventually became so close in the race that they traded positions several times. Prince won by about a minute. [6] Armaindo was more successful when she raced Elsa von Blumen that same year. She won their championship race in Ridgeway Park, Philadelphia, becoming the women's champion of cycling. [4]
Armaindo was also known for participating in multi-day indoor cycling races, in which cyclists would ride many hours each day, with the winner determined by who logged the most miles over the entirety of the race. [3] In 1886, she held a record of 843 miles in a race of this kind. [7] [8]
Armaindo died in 1900. By the late 1930s, she was almost entirely forgotten by sports historians. [1]: 4
- ^ a b c d e f Hall, M. Ann (2018-08-21). Muscle on Wheels: Louise Armaindo and the High-Wheel Racers of Nineteenth-Century America. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. ISBN 9780773555327.
- ^ "Louise Armaindo at CyclingRanking.com". CyclingRanking.com.
- ^ a b Hall, M. Ann (2008-10-15). Immodest and Sensational: 150 Years of Canadian Women in Sports. James Lorimer & Company. pp. 12. ISBN 9781552770214.
- ^ a b Gilles, Roger (2018). Women on the Move: The Forgotten Era of Women's Bicycle Racing. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 9781496210418.
- ^ The Wheelmen. Wheelmen. 1997. p. 38.
-
^ Herlihy, David V. (2004).
Bicycle: The History. Yale University Press. pp.
205.
ISBN
9780300120479.
Louise Armaindo.
- ^ Outing. Outing Publishing Company. 1886. p. 104.
- ^ The Phrenological Journal and Life Illustrated. Samuel R. Wells. 1884. p. 230.
- Macy, Sue (2017-02-07). Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (with a Few Flat Tires Along the Way). National Geographic Books. ISBN 9781426328558.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
Louise Armaindo | |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Born | Louise or Louisa Brisebois or Brisbois 1861 |
| Died | 1900 |
| Occupation(s) | strongwoman, trapeze artist, competitive walker, and high-wheel cyclist |
Louise Armaindo, born either Louise or Louisa Brisebois or Brisbois (1861–1900), was a Canadian strongwoman, trapeze artist, competitive walker, and high-wheel cyclist. [1] [2] Throughout the last decades of the 19th century, she was known as "the champion female bicycle rider of the world." [3]
Louise Armaindo was born Louise or Louisa Brisebois or Brisbois in 1861 in a small community near Montreal, Canada East. [1]
Armaindo was trained by Canadian athlete Tom Eck, [4] who also worked as her manager and promoter and eventually became her husband. [5] The two met in Chicago in the late 1870s, when Armaindo was performing as a strongwoman and becoming interested in pedestrianism, competitive endurance walking. [1]: 29-31 With Eck as manager, Armaindo became a pedestrienne, competing and giving exhibitions in small American towns for pay. [1]: 15
Around this time, many pedestriennes began to race high-wheel bicycles, including Armaindo. [1]: 15 She soon became a successful bicycle racer, competing against men, women, and horses.
In 1882, Armaindo raced American cyclist John Prince over 50 miles. She was given a five-mile head start, but the two eventually became so close in the race that they traded positions several times. Prince won by about a minute. [6] Armaindo was more successful when she raced Elsa von Blumen that same year. She won their championship race in Ridgeway Park, Philadelphia, becoming the women's champion of cycling. [4]
Armaindo was also known for participating in multi-day indoor cycling races, in which cyclists would ride many hours each day, with the winner determined by who logged the most miles over the entirety of the race. [3] In 1886, she held a record of 843 miles in a race of this kind. [7] [8]
Armaindo died in 1900. By the late 1930s, she was almost entirely forgotten by sports historians. [1]: 4
- ^ a b c d e f Hall, M. Ann (2018-08-21). Muscle on Wheels: Louise Armaindo and the High-Wheel Racers of Nineteenth-Century America. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. ISBN 9780773555327.
- ^ "Louise Armaindo at CyclingRanking.com". CyclingRanking.com.
- ^ a b Hall, M. Ann (2008-10-15). Immodest and Sensational: 150 Years of Canadian Women in Sports. James Lorimer & Company. pp. 12. ISBN 9781552770214.
- ^ a b Gilles, Roger (2018). Women on the Move: The Forgotten Era of Women's Bicycle Racing. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 9781496210418.
- ^ The Wheelmen. Wheelmen. 1997. p. 38.
-
^ Herlihy, David V. (2004).
Bicycle: The History. Yale University Press. pp.
205.
ISBN
9780300120479.
Louise Armaindo.
- ^ Outing. Outing Publishing Company. 1886. p. 104.
- ^ The Phrenological Journal and Life Illustrated. Samuel R. Wells. 1884. p. 230.
- Macy, Sue (2017-02-07). Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (with a Few Flat Tires Along the Way). National Geographic Books. ISBN 9781426328558.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |