Homer woman makes Team USA Olympic Cycling roster
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Kristen Faulkner has pedaled her way from Homer, Alaska, to the Paris Olympic Games — the 31-year-old was named to the USA Track Cycling Pursuit Team on Thursday.
“I dreamed of competing in the Olympics ever since I was 8 years old, and I saw it on TV,” the Alaskan cyclist said in a Team USA press release. “This is the biggest dream I’ve ever had, and it’s finally come true!”
Considered a newcomer in the sport, Faulkner has only been cycling competitively for four years. Recent success in pro races around the world earned her the Olympic spot, claiming three Grand Tour stage wins in two years and winning the 2024 Pro Road Race National Championship in May.
“I am beyond excited to represent the USA alongside such a strong group of athletes,” Faulkner added. “I will do my best to bring home a medal for Team USA!”
Learning how to balance on a bike around the Homer Spit, Faulkner departed from Alaska for boarding school on the East Coast at 14 years old before becoming a collegiate rower at Harvard University. After graduating from the Ivy League school in 2016, Faulkner entered the world of finance.
“I first got off training wheels in Homer, Alaska, on this little gravel road with potholes beneath my house,” Faulkner previously told Alaska’s News Source. “I would ride my bike around town just for fun. I would pretend to have errands to do and I didn’t have any errands. I just wanted to go ride.”
The Track Cycling Women’s Team Pursuit qualifying race is scheduled for Aug. 6 at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
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