The sister of fellow racing cyclist Curtis White,[6] Emma started cycle racing at the age of nine, initially in cyclo-cross.[7] She had already taken up horse riding early in her childhood, and continued to pursue this alongside cycling until the age of 16.[8] She won three consecutive national junior cyclo-cross championships in the 13-14 and 15-16 age groups between 2011 and 2013[9] before winning the 17-18 junior title in 2015.[10] She also enjoyed a successful junior career on the road, winning consecutive national junior time trial championships in different age groups in 2013 and 2014 and the national junior criterium championship in 2015,[7] as well as taking two silver medals at the 2015 UCI Road World Championships.[6]
White also won a bronze medal in the 2015 U23 national cyclo-cross championships.[8] She was subsequently crowned national U23 cyclo-cross champion in 2018, also placing seventh in the U23 race at the 2018 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships.[7] Shortly after the cyclo-cross worlds, she attended a track talent ID camp at the behest of her coach, Kristin Armstrong, and was invited by Gary Sutton, the coach of the US team pursuit squad, to join the team, to which she agreed, beginning training with the squad in the summer of 2018.[11]
The following year White became national senior criterium champion in Knoxville: at the age of 21 she became the youngest rider to win that title, additionally securing the U23 championship. She dedicated her victory to her former team-mate Kelly Catlin, who had committed suicide earlier in 2019. A couple of days later, she went on to finish third in the senior United States National Road Race Championships and win the U23 road title.[12][11] That year she also graduated from Union College, having pursued an interdepartmental major in computer science and science, medicine and technology.[6][13]
