AOTW: Trio of ladies fill out Alaska’s 2024 Olympic podium
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - With her shocking victory in the Women’s Cycling Road Race this past Sunday, Kristen Faulkner not only brought home another gold medal for the 49th State, she also filled out a full podium in what has been an incredible stretch for Alaska’s Olympians.
Faulkner joined Eagle River rugby player Alev Kelter and former University of Alaska Fairbanks riflist Sagen Maddalena in the Olympic medal count this year.
Kelter earned a bronze medal alongside team USA Women’s Rugby following their last-second victory over Australia, defeating the Aussies 14-12 in the match’s final seconds.
“This medal has come to fruition and it’s actually unbelievable, and I have no words to describe that feeling,” Kelter said in an interview with Alaska’s News Source.
Maddalena was next to medal, joining fellow UAF alumni Matt Emmons and Jamie (Beyerle) Gray as former Nanooks to podium in air rifle at the quadrennial event, taking the silver in the women’s 50-meter air rifle 3 positions discipline. She missed out on the top spot by just 1.4 points, trailing behind gold medal winner Chiara Leone from the Netherlands. Maddalena also placed fourth in the women’s 10-meter competition.
“It’s a feeling that doesn’t really have a description towards it of knowing you’ve grasped that success,” Maddalena told NBC. “It was really thrilling to make the podium. But I wanted to keep climbing up it.”
Finally, it was time for Homer’s Kristen Faulkner. A former Harvard rower and New York-based venture capitalist who left that career behind to pursue cycling fulltime in 2021, her win in the women’s road race was the first time an American — man or woman — claimed gold in the event since 1984.
Faulkner was pushed into the lineup after Taylor Knibb withdrew from the event to focus on Triathlon.
“When I woke up this morning, I said, ‘I’m here to do one thing and that’s to either earn a medal or help [cycling teammate Chloe Dygert] win a medal,’” Faulkner said in a postrace press conference. “When I started the race, I wasn’t here to participate. I was here to bring home a medal. So it was on my mind. And if at any point I didn’t believe that, I was going to pull out of the race ... I came here today and I really believed it was possible and made it happen.”
Faulkner’s time on the international stage continues this week. The 31-year-old is also a part of Team USA’s team pursuit squad alongside Jennifer Valente, Dygert, and Lily Williams. Team USA faces Great Britain on Wednesday with a chance to advance to either the gold or bronze race the same day.
It is unknown as of Tuesday evening whether Maddalena will compete at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.
Kelter, on the other hand, has acknowledged that the Paris games may be her final appearance.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity. We always say that it gets, you know, this is bittersweet. I’m not knowing if I’ll be back for another round. Third time’s a charm, I guess,” Kelter said.
Regardless of what comes next for these athletes, two things will forever be shared amongst the three of them; their journeys go through Alaska, journeys that have etched each name into Olympic history.
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