Kristen Faulkner, a 2016 alumna, clinched gold in the Women’s Cycling Road Race on Sunday, August 4. The former Harvard-Radcliffe rower now turned cyclist achieved a remarkable comeback to secure first place, marking the first women’s cycling medal for Team USA in four decades, since Connie Carpenter-Phinney did so in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Faulkner completed the race with a time of 3:59:23, finishing 58 seconds ahead of the second-place competitor. Out of 94 Olympic cyclists, she broke away with three kilometers remaining to seize the gold medal in Paris.
Originally from Alaska, Faulkner was a varsity rower at Harvard-Radcliffe for two years (2015-2016) and was part of the first varsity boat throughout the 2016 season. She had a notable performance at the IRA National Championship, where she contributed to the team’s bronze medal finish, and they also placed second at the Eastern Sprints that same year.
She initially started cycling just four years ago in Central Park, New York, before moving on to a job in venture capital in California, ultimately deciding to pursue a career as a professional cyclist. Faulkner had originally qualified for the Olympics in track cycling events, but stepped in to replace Taylor Knibb in the road race after Knibb opted to focus on the time trial and triathlon events.
Faulkner is expected to compete in the Team Pursuit events later this week. The US Olympic Track Cycling events will be streamed on Peacock, featuring Women’s Team Pursuit Qualifying at 11:30 AM ET, the First Round at 6:45 AM ET, and the Finals at 11:30 AM ET.