Jimmy Watkins

Sport: Cycling

Nation: United States of America

DOB: August 26, 1982

Hometown: Bakersfield, CA

Career Highlights: Watkins got his first taste of Olympic action when he competed in the 100-meter dash in the Junior Olympics as a fourth grader. Thanks to a pair of top-20 world cup finishes this season in the sprint race, Watkins will make his first official Olympic appearance in London. A star baseball and football player while growing up in central California, Watkins shifted his focus to a career as a firefighter. In order to keep in shape for his demanding job, Watkins got more involved in cycling and eventually made it his career after achieving continued success. A four-time national champion in the keirin, sprint and team sprint events, Watkins won gold in the time trial race and silver in the keirin at the 2009 Pan-American Games. At the 2011 Pan-American Games, Watkins was part of the silver medal-winning team sprint squad and finished fourth in the keirin. He owns or shares national records in the Flying 200 (9.876 seconds in 2009), 1km (1:01.085 in 2009) and team sprint (44.036 in 2011). Watkins is married and welcomed his first child to the family in 2010.

Olympic History: None