Kristen Faulkner did something for Team USA at the Olympics that hadn't been done since the 1984 Summer Games: win a gold medal in the women's road cycling event.
He did it in dramatic fashion on Sunday.
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Kristen Faulkner crosses the finish line in the women's road cycling event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (Photo by Wu Huiwo/Pool via Ap)
With 3.4 kilometres to go, Faulkner was behind Dutchwoman Marianne Vos and Belgian Lotte Kopecky. She was just ahead of Hungarian Blanka Vas. Faulkner was just behind Kopecky when she broke away from the group and overtook them.
He then pulled away from the group and held onto the gold medal by about a minute.
“It's a dream come true,” he said. “It's the best feeling in the world. I don't know how to describe it.”
“I knew Kopecky wanted to catch the first two, so I knew she would run with me. I knew that if we caught them, I had to attack because I couldn't get past any of them at the finish line. The best place to attack was right after I caught them and they were all tired. That was my chance, I practiced my late attack a few times this year.”
Kristen Faulkner celebrates her victory in the women's road cycling event at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
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The last Americans to win a medal in this event were at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. It was the first time the women's road race was contested, when Connie Carpenter-Phinney and Alexi Grewal won gold and silver.
Interestingly, Faulkner wasn't even supposed to be at the event.
Taylor Knibb retired to focus on triathlon. Faulkner took his place and claimed victory.
Faulkner won Omloop van het Hageland and won a stage in La Vuelta Femenina.
Kristen Faulkner bites her gold medal in the women's road cycling event at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
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On Monday, the focus will be on the Velodrome National de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
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