Zoe Cuthbert (cycling) made history at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, winning Australia’s first medal in mountain biking when she won silver in the women’s mountain bike event. It was a final lap surge that delivered the silver medal for the “Flying Racoon”, Zoe’s Instagram handle she created when she was 12-years-old. But the now 21-year-old had a debut Games to remember. Cuthbert comes from an extreme sports family. Her mother competed at the X Games in rock climbing, while her father Paul was an ultra-marathoner. Cuthbert entered her first race aged eight, alongside her mother for the Canberra Off-Road Cyclists, where she finished last after her bike chain broke. She quickly rose through the ranks and in 2019 won the Australian MTB junior titles in cross-country, cross-country short circuit, relay and enduro. She followed that with the Oceania title in cross-country and a fifth placing in the world junior championships. Before each race, Cuthbert likes to attach a local flower to her bike to see how long it can remain attached. She is studying a Bachelor of Design at the Australian National University.