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Leah Goldstein

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For the musician and actress, see July Talk.

Leah Goldstein
Personal information
Full nameLeah Goldstein
Born (1969-02-04) February 4, 1969 (age 55)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Team information
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Major wins

Leah Goldstein (born February 4, 1969, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) is a professional Canadian-Israeli road racing cyclist, former 1989 World Bantamweight Kickboxing Champion, and Israel's 1998 Duathlon champion.[1][2] In 2021, she became the first woman to win the overall solo division of the Race Across America (RAAM).[3][4]

Early and personal life

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Born in Vancouver, Canada, to Israeli parents, Goldstein was raised in Israel when her family made aliyah.[5] At the age of 17 she won the Bantamweight World Kickboxing Championship.[3] She spent 9 years in the Israeli commandos and secret police.[6] She returned to Canada in the late 1990s.[7] Goldstein lives in Vernon, British Columbia.[8]

Career

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Kickboxing

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A natural athlete, at 17 years of age Goldstein won the 1989 World Bantamweight Kickboxing Championship.[5][9]

Duathlon

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Goldstein was Israel's 1998 duathlon (run-bike-run) champion.[1][10][9] Shortly before the 2004 Olympics, she broke her hand in a race in Pennsylvania. And then in 2005, after winning 9 of her first 11 races she was involved in a horrific crash during the Cascade Classic that almost ended her career. She was hospitalized for two and a half months and told she would never walk without a cane.[3]

Cycling

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In 2008 Goldstein won the Israeli national women's road cycling championships in both time trials and road racing. In 2009 she repeated as national champion in both events.

In 2011, Goldstein won the women's solo category of Race Across America (RAAM).[11][12] In 2019, she came in second in the women's division and fifth overall in RAAM. In June 2021, she won the overall solo division for this 3,000 mile race in 11 days, three hours. and three minutes.[13][3][14]

Book

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Goldstein wrote a book about her life entitled No Limits; The Powerful True Story of Leah Goldstein-World Champion Kickboxer, Ultra Endurance Cyclist, Israeli Undercover Police Officer (2016).[15]

Speaker

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In February 2024, Goldstein became the topic of controversy when she was removed from her spot as keynote speaker at an Ottawa International Women’s Day event, after she had accepted an invitation, as a result of her time in the IDF.[16][5] She said: "I am zero political when I speak. Honestly, there is nothing political about my presentation. I just talk about the crap that I went through and the crap that most women go through, and they still do, and how I handled it."[5][16] Goldstein noted: "As a Jewish woman, I would never be offended if a Palestinian woman were to speak about her obstacles and life journey. I thought that’s what women were supposed to do for each other – listen and support!”[16] Deborah Lyons, Canada’s former ambassador to Israel and the Liberal-appointed special envoy on Holocaust remembrance and combating antisemitism, called it “just another example of the erasure and silencing of Jews going on across Canada and around the world."[7]

Results

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1989

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  • 1st Inaugural Kfar Maccabiah Biathlon, Israel

1998

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  • 1st Israeli Duathalon Championships

1999

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  • 1st BC Road Championships
  • 1st Women’s Tour de France – Domestique

2000

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2001

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  • 3rd in National Championship, Road, ITT, Elite, Canada (F) (CAN)

2002

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  • 2nd in Stage 1 Tour de Toona (F) (USA)
  • 2nd in National Championship, Road, ITT, Elite, Canada (F) (CAN)

2003

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2005

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  • 1st in Stage 2 Mount Hood Classic (F) (USA)
  • 3rd in Stage 4 Mount Hood Classic (F) (USA)
  • 1st in Stage 3 Mount Hood Classic (F) (USA)
  • 1st in Stage 5 Mount Hood Classic (F) (USA)
  • 1st in General Classification Mount Hood Classic (F) (USA)

2006

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  • 2nd in Stage 4 Mount Hood Classic (F) (USA)
  • 3rd in Stage 6 Mount Hood Classic (F) (USA)
  • 1st in General Classification Mount Hood Classic (F) (USA)

2007

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  • 1st in Stage 4 Mount Hood Classic (F) (USA)
  • 2nd in Stage 5 Mount Hood Classic (F) (USA)
  • 1st in General Classification Mount Hood Classic (F) (USA)
  • 1st in National Championship, Road, ITT, Elite, Israel (F) (ISR)
  • 1st in National Championship, Road, Elite, Israel (F) (ISR)
  • 2nd in Tour de Gastown (F) (CAN)
  • 2nd in Stage 3 Tour de Delta (F) (CAN)
  • 2nd in General Classification Tour de Delta (F) (CAN)

2008

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  • 3rd in Stage 1 San Dimas Stage Race (F), Glendora (USA)
  • 1st in Stage 1 Tour of the Gila (F), Mogollon R.R. (USA)
  • 2nd in Stage 3 Tour of the Gila (F) (USA)
  • 1st in General Classification Tour of the Gila (F) (USA)
  • 1st in Stage 4 Mount Hood Classic (F) (USA)
  • 3rd in General Classification Mount Hood Classic (F) (USA)
  • 1st in National Championship, Road, ITT, Elite, Israel (F) (ISR)
  • 1st in National Championship, Road, Elite, Israel (F) (ISR)

2009

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  • 1st in National Championship, Road, ITT, Elite, Israel (F) (ISR)
  • 1st in National Championship, Road, Elite, Israel (F) (ISR)

2010

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  • 1st Solo Woman (2nd overall) – Race Across Oregon
  • 1st Solo Woman + new record 2nd overall – Ring of Fire

2011

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2012

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  • 1st Solo Woman (2nd overall) RAW – New time record

2019

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  • 2nd Solo Division and 5th overall RAAM – Queen of the Prairies

2021

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  • 1st Overall Solo Division RAAM – 1st woman in 39-yr history to win Overall Solo Division – Queen of the Mountains – Queen of the Prairies

2022

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  • 1st Overall Hoodoo 500 – Broke previous record
  • 1st Solo Women RAW (Race Across the West) – New women’s time record

2023

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  • 2nd Women’s Solo RAAM (Race Across America) 4th Overall in 10 days 8 hours – Broke personal record by 10 hours – Queen of the Mountains – Queen of the Prairies[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c MTB (8 February 2024). "Leah Goldstein". KHS.
  2. ^ Will Bolton (27 June 2021). "Leah Goldstein makes history by becoming first female cyclist to win Race Across America". road.cc. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Ghert-Zand, Renee (10 July 2021). "Jewish Canadian cyclist is first woman to win toughest ultra-endurance race; Crossing finish line in 11 days, 3 hours and 3 minutes, Leah Goldstein traverses 3,000 miles to take first place in overall solo in grueling Race Across America". Times of Israel. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  4. ^ Sydney Morton (4 July 2021). "Vernon cyclist becomes 1st woman to win gruelling 4,800 km 'Race Across America'". Global News. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d Jennifer Lovy (16 February 2024). "Canadian cyclist disinvited as speaker at women's event because of past IDF service; Leah Goldstein booted from Ottawa International Women's day event after pro-Palestinian activists discover her military background 3 decades ago". The Times of Israel.
  6. ^ "Pedal Magazine". pedalmag.com.
  7. ^ a b "Jewish BC cyclist disinvited from women's event because of IDF service; 'As a Jewish woman, I would never be offended if a Palestinian woman were to speak about her obstacles and life journey'". National Post. 20 February 2024.
  8. ^ Taylor, Brooke (2 July 2021). "Canadian woman makes history winning gruelling 4,800-km bike race". CTVNews. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  9. ^ a b Sheri Rosenbaum (19 March 2024). "Interview with Leah Goldstein, 2021 RAAM Winner". Road Bike Rider Cycling.
  10. ^ Jack Borenstein (18 August 2005). "Cyclist determined to overcome devastating crash". Jewish Tribune. Archived from the original on 15 November 2008.
  11. ^ Molly Hurford (26 July 2021). "Leah Goldstein Is the First Woman to Win Race Across America's Overall Solo Division; Goldstein, 52, beat everyone—including the men—to the finish line in just over 11 days". Bicycling.
  12. ^ Dave Seminara (27 June 2011). "In Cycling Race Across America, Sleep Is Shunned". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Canadian endures heat and hallucinations to become 1st woman to win Race Across America; Leah Goldstein of Vernon, B.C., cycled 4,800 kilometres across 12 states in 11 days, 3 hours and 3 minutes". CBC. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  14. ^ Palmer, Joseph (13 June 2023). "Leah Goldstein: the cyclist who raced men across America … and won". The Guardian.
  15. ^ Leah Goldstein ((2016)No Limits; The Powerful True Story of Leah Goldstein-World Champion Kickboxer, Ultra Endurance Cyclist, Israeli Undercover Police Officer
  16. ^ a b c "Former B.C. professional cyclist Leah Goldstein removed from event because of past Israel Defence Force service", Canadian Cycling Magazine, 18 February 2024.
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