American cyclist Kristen Faulkner has made history after winning gold at the 2024 Olympic Games, a feat for the first time in 40 years.
The 31-year-old earned her first medal on Sunday, August 4, during the Olympics cycling race.
Faulkner beat competitor Marianne Vos by 58 seconds as the Dutch rider secured silver, while Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky clinched the bronze medal by the eye of a needle.
The race took place across a 98-mile stretch in Paris, along several hilly routes, ending at the finishing line at the Trocadéro.
Towards the end of the race when it seemed like Faulkner was grabbing the silver medal, she broke through, cycling heavily past her opposition to clinch the gold.
Faulkner’s gold win makes her the first American to receive a road race medal at the Olympics since 1984, when Alexi Grewal and Connie Carpenter got their gold medals at the games in Los Angeles.
“It’s a dream come true,” Faulkner said following her win, per the AP. “It’s the best feeling in the world. I don’t know how to describe it.
“I knew that Kopecky wanted to catch the front two, so I knew she’d ride with me. I knew that if we caught them, then I had to attack because I couldn’t beat any of them at the line,” she continued.
“The best place to attack was right after we caught them and everyone was tired. That was my chance, I practiced my late attack several times this year.”
“I took a really big risk a few years ago to come to pursue my dream. I made it happen,” the cycling champion said.
“I learned how to calculate risks and assess risks. In a race, I take that mindset with me: What is the risk-reward ratio? Knowing when to go all in.”
