In a practice run at this summer’s North American Enduro Cup, professional enduro
racer Fiona Dougherty races down a mountain on her bike in this photo taken by UW
2024 Larsh Bristol Photojournalism Fellowship recipient Forrest Cole, of Wheatland.
Dougherty competed in the professional enduro race held at Silver Mountain Bike Park
outside of Kellogg, Idaho. This marks the second year the Marauders, led by Dougherty,
have competed at this prestigious cycling event in the rugged Idaho wilderness. (Forrest
Cole Photo)
University of Wyoming journalism student Forrest Cole, of Wheatland, is the recipient
of the 2024 Larsh Bristol Photojournalism Fellowship. He will give a free public presentation
about his work Friday, Oct. 18, at 5:30 p.m. in Room 506 of Coe Library.
As a primarily male-dominated sport, mountain biking can be unwelcoming to women who
wish to participate, Cole says. Although women’s events are now recognized at the
professional level, there is still a lack of support for beginner and unsponsored
riders.
Cole spent the past summer photographing Fiona Dougherty, a professional enduro racer
and co-founder of Mountain Marauders, a professional women’s mountain biking team.
Sports photography has always captivated Cole, who credits it as the source of his
passion for cycling and outdoor recreation. Drawing on personal experiences in mountain
biking, he decided to step behind the camera to document one woman’s efforts in making
the sport accessible to all.
“When I got older, I realized I was just as interested in documenting those sports
with a camera myself,” Cole says. “It was this interest that drove me to follow stories
related to this sport, and Fiona’s story is one that I felt deserved to be told.”
The project took place in Durango, Colo., where Cole proposed his idea to Dougherty.
Throughout the summer, he photographed her at races and local bike shops, with other
riders and by herself.
“I wanted to create something that showcased her passion for giving women the opportunity
to have fun on bikes, something I’d heard her speak about many times before starting
this process,” he says. “She’s always been an inspiration to me in that regard, and
I wanted to help her efforts by giving her a platform to speak on.”
Cole hopes his project about Dougherty’s efforts will help inspire women elsewhere
to participate in outdoor sports and help break down the barriers that hold them back
from pursuing their passions.
“It’s an issue and movement that extends beyond the borders of sports, and yet, for
many in my community, biking has become the showcase in which women choose to make
their statement,” he says.
The Larsh Bristol Photojournalism Fellowship is an annual award for UW students to
support strong visual storytelling projects. It is named in honor of Larsh Bristol,
a UW journalism alumnus who died in 2006.
The Larsh Bristol Photojournalism Fellowship allowed Cole to develop his first full-length
photojournalism project and bring his vision to reality.
His photos will be exhibited on the third floor of Coe Library through Friday, Dec.
6.
“Receiving The Larsh Bristol Fellowship was both an honor and an exciting new opportunity
for me,” Cole says. “It has taught me a lot about putting storytelling with a camera
into practice and the work that goes along with it. It has equally shown me how rewarding
doing so can be and has helped me better connect with the supportive faculty within
UW’s Department of Communications and Journalism.”
The Larsh Bristol Photojournalism Fellowship has been hosted by the UW Department
of Communication and Journalism since 2008.
For more information, email Cindy Price Schultz, UW associate professor of communication
and journalism, at cprice@uwyo.edu.
