Awards

 Indiana’s Cathy Hanna started her racing career in 1977, back when the girls class was called Powder Puffs. Hanna quickly became one of the fastest females in the Midwest racing scene, at first co-sponsored by Redline, then hooking up a sponsorship deal with Thruster, before joining the iconic Factory Torker squad. In a sport full of teenage boys, Cathy and her great smile and Farrah Faucet-like hair, grabbed the attention of every red-blooded BMX racer - as well as the BMX magazines. Thanks to a single page HotShot feature in the November 1980 issue of BMX Action - and a classic Oz-written caption, Cathy became the most recognized Woman in BMX. That same year, she was awarded BMX Plus’ Personality of the Year.

But Hanna was out to prove she was more than just a pretty face - earning an NBL National #2 plate by consistently racing in the top three around the nation. Her celebrity status grew, as she was featured in articles and magazine advertisements - including that Oakley ad we first told you about. Cathy’s popularity and fandom would help open doors for other females to be featured in magazines and ads, and marked a new dawn for girls in the sport of BMX. No longer were they “Powder Puffs” … Hanna helped make the Girls class legit racers.