Eileen Sheridan (cyclist)

Eileen Sheridan, born Constance Eileen Shaw in Coventry on 18 October 1923, was an English cyclist who specialised in time trialling and road record breaking and died on 12 February 2023 at the age of 99. She joined the Coventry Cycling Club in 1944, began racing in 1945 and won the national 25 mile time trial championship that year. She won the British Best All-Rounder competition in 1949 and 1950 and took national championships at 50 and 100 miles in 1950, and her 12-hour ride in 1949 set a national record. Signed by the Hercules Cycle and Motor Company in 1951, she broke all 21 of the women's road records and held them all in 1955, including a Land's End to John o' Groats ride in 1954 and a 1,000 mile record that stood for 48 years. She was inducted into the British Cycling Hall of Fame in 2016, and a blue plaque marking her first race win was unveiled in Coventry in 2024.