Kristen Faulkner, a 2016 graduate, achieved a stunning victory in the Women’s Cycling Road Race on Sunday, August 4. The former Harvard-Radcliffe rower turned cyclist secured the gold medal, marking the first women’s cycling medal for Team USA in 40 years, following Connie Carpenter-Phinney’s success at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Faulkner completed the race in 3:59:23, finishing 58 seconds ahead of the second-place competitor. She was among 94 Olympic cyclists and made a decisive break in the final three kilometers to clinch gold in Paris.
A native of Alaska, Faulkner was a member of the Harvard-Radcliffe varsity rowing team for two years, from 2015 to 2016. In her final year, she was part of the first varsity boat for the entire season, rowing the five seat in the 1V at the IRA National Championship and helping the team earn a bronze medal. Earlier that year, her crew also secured second place at the Eastern Sprints.
Faulkner transitioned to cycling just four years ago, initially training in Central Park, New York, before venturing into a job in venture capital in California. She later decided to pursue a professional cycling career. Initially focused on track cycling events for the Olympics, she was called up to replace Taylor Knibb in the road race after Knibb chose to concentrate on the time trial and triathlon events instead.
The Harvard-Radcliffe alumna will also compete in the Team Pursuit events later this week. Fans can watch the US Olympic Track Cycling events streamed on Peacock at the following times: Women’s Team Pursuit Qualifying at 11:30 AM ET, Women’s Team Pursuit First Round at 6:45 AM ET, and Women’s Team Pursuit Finals at 11:30 AM ET.