Gold Medal goes to Harvard-Radcliffe’s Kristen Faulkner ’16 for Olympic Road Cycling

PARIS, FRANCE –– Kristen Faulkner ’16 gained the gold within the Girls’s Biking Street Race on Sunday, Aug. 4. The previous Harvard-Radcliffe rower turned bike owner completed out the race with a spectacular comeback victory to earn first place.

That is the primary ladies’s biking medal for Crew USA in 40 years since Connie Carpenter-Phinney did so within the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Faulkner completed with a time of three:59:23 which was 0:58 forward of second place. She completed first out of 93 different Olympic cyclists, breaking away with three kilometers to go to take Gold on Sunday in Paris.

The Alaska native was a Harvard-Radcliffe varsity rower for 2 years (2015-2016). In 2016, Faulkner was a part of the primary varsity boat for all the season. She sat 5 seat within the 1V on the IRA Nationwide Championship the place she helped the group earn a bronze. The Black and White additionally got here in second place at Japanese Sprints earlier that yr.

She took up biking simply 4 years in the past, first beginning to trip in Central Park, New York. Faulkner obtained a job in enterprise capital in California earlier than deciding she needed to be an expert bike owner. 

Faulkner initially entered the Olympics in simply the monitor biking occasions, however the USA group wanted a alternative for Taylor Knibb who resigned her spot within the highway race to concentrate on the time trial and triathlon occasions.

The Harvard-Radcliffe alumni is ready to compete within the Crew Pursuit competitions later this week. US Olympic Monitor Biking might be streamed on Peacock. 

Tuesday, August 6, 2024
11:30 AM ET – Girls’s Crew Pursuit Qualifying
Wednesday, August 7, 2024
6:45 AM ET – Girls’s Crew Pursuit First Spherical
11:30 AM ET – Girls’s Crew Pursuit Finals