{{short description|American biathlete}} {{use mdy dates|date=November 2017}} {{Infobox sportsperson | name = Beth Coats | full_name = Beth Jan Coats | image = | caption = | nationality = American | sport = Biathlon | event = | club = | collegeteam = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|7|20}} | birth_place = Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | death_date = | death_place = | height = | weight = }}
'''Beth Jan Coats''' (born July 20, 1966) is an American former biathlete and cyclist.<ref name="OLY">{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/80859 |title=Beth Coats |work=Olympedia |access-date=January 24, 2022}}</ref> She competed at the 1992 Winter Olympics and the 1994 Winter Olympics.<ref name="SportsRef">{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/co/beth-coats-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418101024/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/co/beth-coats-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 18, 2020 |title=Beth Coats Olympic Results |access-date=November 21, 2017}}</ref> Coats was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico and graduated from Eldorado High School.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Frentzel |first1=Martin |title=Local Biathlete Shooting for Medal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57472088/albuquerque-journal/ |accessdate=August 16, 2020 |work=Albuquerque Journal |date=February 10, 1992 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She later suffered severe injuries in a climbing accident.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://users.erols.com/nscia/newsroom/archive/disability/cyclist.html |title=Professional Cyclist Injured in Climbing Accident |work=National Spinal Cord Injury Association |access-date=January 24, 2022}}</ref>
==Biography== In the 1980s, Coats went on a skiing trip in New Mexico, which resulted in her enrolling at Western State College and joining the cross-country ski team.<ref name="CB">{{cite web|url=https://crestedbuttenews.com/2009/07/an-unexpected-life-the-rise-and-fall-of-beth-coats/ |title=An unexpected life: The rise and fall of Beth Coats |work=Crested Butte News |access-date=January 24, 2022}}</ref> After learning how to use a .22 caliber rifle, Coats moved on to biathlon.<ref name="CB"/> In 1993, Coats joined the National Guard, helping her to qualify to the United States Olympic team.<ref name="CB"/>
Coats competed at two Winter Olympics, and in seven World Championships in biathlon.<ref name="OLY"/> Coats also competed professionally in mountain biking,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1998/03/29/furthermore/7fac2cf9-70a1-4525-baa1-e8768f59d913/ |title=Furthermore |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=January 24, 2022}}</ref> ranking tenth in the world as a professional,<ref name="CB"/> finishing second overall in the US national championships in 1997,<ref name="OLY"/> and later became a mountain climber.<ref name="OLY"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mountainzone.com/2000/elcap/html/index4.html |title=Beth Coats, an ascent of El Cap |work=Mountain Zone |access-date=January 24, 2022}}</ref> However, while climbing in Eldorado Canyon State Park in 1998, Coats suffered a spinal cord injury during a fall, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down.<ref name="OLY"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mountainzone.com/news/coats.html |title=Pro-Mountain Biker Beth Coats is Paralyzed |work=Mountain Zone |access-date=24 January 2022}}</ref> Despite suffering a spinal injury, Coats went on to climb El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.<ref name="OLY"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boulderweekly.com/archives/20090521/coverstory.html |title=Desperate measures |work=Boulder Weekly |access-date=January 24, 2022}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{sports links}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Coats, Beth}} Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:Biathletes at the 1992 Winter Olympics Category:Biathletes at the 1994 Winter Olympics Category:American female biathletes Category:American female cyclists Category:Olympic biathletes for the United States Category:Sportspeople from Albuquerque, New Mexico Category:20th-century American sportswomen Category:Eldorado High School alumni