Homer cyclist wins stunning gold at Paris Olympics
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Kristen Faulkner, a first-time Olympian from Homer, rode to a shocking gold medal Sunday at the Paris Olympic Games.
Faulkner put on a late surge to break away from the rest of the field to claim the gold, beating the Netherland’s Marianne Vos and Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky by 58 seconds each in a time of 3 hours, 59 minutes, 23 seconds, over the 98-mile course.
She’s the first American to bring home gold in the event since 1984, when Connie Carpenter-Phinney accomplished the feat at the Los Angeles summer games.
“I feel like it’s a dream come true,” Faulker said at the finish line. “I took a really big risk a few years ago to chase my dream and I’ve made it happen. It’s the best feeling in the world, I don’t know how to describe it.”
Faulkner rarely led during the bulk of the 98-mile race but stuck with a group of riders as the race neared its conclusion.
The Alaskan eventually found herself among a pack of four riders as the miles dwindled down before making her move with 3.3 kilometers (two miles) left in the race. None of the other three went with Faulkner when she put on the surge and the Alaskan was able to easily cruise to the gold-medal victory.
When asked after the race what she wanted to tell her friends and family back home, Faulkner didn’t mince words.
“Thank you for teaching me to dream big, and thank you for supporting me my whole life,” she said.
Faulkner is now the third Alaskan to reach the gold standard on the Olympic stage in the last six years — Kikkan Randall earned a team sprint gold in cross-country skiing during the 2018 Pyongyang Winter Games, while Seward’s Lydia Jacoby did the same in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke during the 2021 Tokyo Summer Games.
Originally from Homer, Faulkner got her shot in the event this year after triathlon athlete Taylor Knibb resigned to focus on other competitions.
Faulkner is also scheduled to compete in the women’s team pursuit event later this week.
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