Bunki Bankaitis-Davis

Born to Lithuanian parents, Bunki Bankaitis-Davis competed in the women’s road race at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, finishing 14th. She started out as a volleyball player, earning a scholarship to Cleveland State University where she studied chemistry. Bankaitis-Davis later earned a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of North Carolina. While at UNC she met her future husband, an amateur cyclist, who got her started in cycling. She quickly became one of the top American female cyclists.

After the 1988 Olympics, Bankaitis-Davis continued to compete. She won the 1988 Ronde van Noorwegen (Tour of Norway), the 1990 Tour de Toona (Pennsylvania), and was second at the 1990 Ronde van Noorwegen, winning the sixth stage. She was an alternate to the 1992 Olympic team, but won a gold medal at the 1992 World Championships in the team time trial, and then retired from competition.

Bankaitis-Davis put her organic chemistry degree to good use. She started working with Amgen in Boulder, Colorado, but left after several years and started her own company, Source Molecular Diagnostics, which does molecular blood tests.