Kristen Faulkner, a 31-year-old Harvard graduate, secured the first U.S. gold medal in the women’s road race since 1984 at the Paris Olympics. Remarkably, she only took up cycling six years ago for fun.
Growing up in Homer, Alaska, Faulkner was an avid hiker and rower. She joined Harvard’s crew team, graduating in 2016. In 2017, she moved to New York to work as a venture capitalist and started competitive cycling to satisfy her need for outdoor activities. “I still needed that outdoors fix that was such a big part of my life,” she told NBC News.
Olympic journey
Faulkner wasn’t originally slated for the 2024 Paris Olympics. She was called up in early July after Taylor Knibb resigned from the road race to focus on other events. “This is a dream come true,” Faulkner expressed after the race. “I’m still looking at that finish line sign wondering how my name got there.”
Transition to full-time athlete
Faulkner’s cycling career began in a women’s cycling clinic in Central Park. By 2020, she was racing for Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank. In 2021, she left venture capital to pursue cycling full-time, initially thinking it would be a temporary detour. Now, as a member of Team EF Education-TIBCO-SVB, she rides around 50 miles daily and has developed a deep passion for the sport. She told the Associated Press, “I learned how to calculate and assess risks,” skills she now applies in racing.
Faulkner faced a significant setback last year when she was hit by a car while training, resulting in a fractured shin. She took a three-month break from cycling, fearing it might end her career. “I said I’d only do the road race if I felt strong and felt I had a chance of a medal,” she told the Associated Press. Her resilience, rooted in her Alaskan upbringing, helped her overcome this injury and compete at the Olympics.
Looking ahead
With the women’s road race gold medal under her belt, Faulkner now aims for another medal in team pursuit. Reflecting on her journey, she shared, “It’s never a matter of if I’ll keep going, it’s just a matter of how.”
Faulkner’s Olympic dreams date back to watching the Sydney 2000 Games. “At that moment, it became my life goal to go to the Olympics,” she told Global Cycling Network. Her achievement is a testament to the dreams of the little girl who aspired to compete on the world stage.