American · Homer, Alaska, United States · Born 18 December 1992Kristen Faulkner is an American cyclist who won two gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, becoming the first American to win an Olympic cycling road race medal in 40 years, despite only taking up the sport in 2017.
Kristen Faulkner became the first American cyclist to win two gold medals at a single Olympics when she claimed both the road race and the team pursuit at Paris 2024, having only taken up cycling in 2017 after a free session in Central Park following years spent as a venture capitalist. After graduating in 2016, she moved to New York City to work as a venture capitalist, and only discovered cycling in 2017 after trying a free class in Central Park. Faulkner won her very first race weeks after taking up the sport, and by 2021 had quit her finance career entirely to pursue cycling full-time. She turned professional and built a strong palmares on the road, winning the mountains classification and two stages at the 2022 Giro d'Italia, before being invited to trial for the USA Cycling track team's team pursuit programme ahead of the Paris Olympics. Faulkner made the U.S. Olympic team in 2024 for track cycling, and then earned a late road race spot after teammate Taylor Knibb withdrew to focus on triathlon. She delivered one of the Games' biggest surprises, timing a late attack to win the women's road race gold medal — the first American medal in the event since 1984 — before adding a second gold in the team pursuit on the track, becoming the first American cyclist to win two gold medals at a single Olympics. She went on to win the USA National Road Race Championship in both 2024 and 2025.
Winning two Olympic gold medals at Paris 2024 despite taking up cycling only seven years earlier
How They Played
Powerful time-trialist and finisher with a strong tactical racing instinct
Lasting Impact
One of the most remarkable late-blooming success stories in modern cycling, and the first American to win Olympic road race gold in 40 years
Career Honours
- 2x Olympic gold (2024 road race, 2024 team pursuit)
- First American road race medal since 1984
- 2x USA National Road Race Champion (2024, 2025)
- Giro d'Italia mountains classification winner (2022)
American Athletes