Kristin Armstrong Savola (; born August 11, 1973) is a former professional road bicycle racer and three-time Olympic gold medalist, the winner of the women's

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' " stopwatch stage"). There are also track ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. Before temporarily retiring to start a family in 2009, she rode for in women's elite professional events on the National Racing Calendar (NRC) and UCI Women's World Cup. She announced a return to competitive cycling beginning in the 2011 season, competing for Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12 at the Redlands Classic.

Background

Prior to her professional cycling career, Armstrong had been a junior Olympian in swimming, a distance runner in college, and then a

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...

. She spent many hours perfecting her strokes in the pool at the Boise Family

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

, where she also served as Director of Aquatics, managing more than 50 lifeguards, swim instructors, and others. She was diagnosed with

osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis (OA) is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone which affects 1 in 7 adults in the United States. It is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the w ...

in both hips in 2001 at age 27, and told that she could no longer run at an elite level, thus ending her triathlon career and leading her to focus exclusively on cycling. The three-time national champion finished 8th (top U.S. finisher) in the women's road race at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in China, Armstrong completed the biggest achievement of her career by winning the gold medal in the women's road time trial competition on August 13. Finishing in under 35 minutes, Armstrong was 25 seconds ahead of silver medalist

Emma Pooley Emma may refer to: * Emma (given name) Film * ''Emma'' (1932 film), a comedy-drama film by Clarence Brown * ''Emma'' (1996 theatrical film), a film starring Gwyneth Paltrow * ''Emma'' (1996 TV film), a British television film starring Kate Be ...

from

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, with Karin Thürig from Switzerland taking the bronze. Of Armstrong, Velonews wrote: "Kristin Armstrong is famous for both her success in bicycle racing, and the 'type-A' attention to detail that keeps her climbing the podium at critical races every season." Armstrong announced at the end of 2010 that she would return to competitive cycling, with the goal of competing at the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

2012 Summer Olympics. In a written statement, she stated that her retirement was merely temporary in order to start a family:

I love cycling and I love competing. I stopped racing after the 2009 World Championships not because I was burned out, but because my husband and I wanted to start a family...I told myself from the beginning if everything went smoothly with the birth of our son, Lucas William, I would consider racing again.

In 2011, Armstrong returned to compete with the Peanut Butter & Co. Team TWENTY12, of which she was a part owner. She won three of the four stages (criterium, road race, and time trial) and the overall title during the

Sea Otter Classic The Sea Otter Classic is a bicycling and outdoor sports festival and exposition held each spring since 1991 at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway ...

in April. However, during the first stage of the

Tour of the Gila The Tour of the Gila is a cycling stage race for both men and women located in New Mexico, United States. It is sponsored by the component maker SRAM. The "Gila" began in 1987. Beginning in 2012, the men's Gila has been added to the UCI Americ ...

, which she had won twice previously, Armstrong came down with food poisoning. She ended up withdrawing from the race and returning home to recover. Armstrong successfully defended her Olympic title in the

at the 2012 Olympics in London and became the oldest rider to win an Olympic time trial, and finished 35th in the Women's road race. She announced her retirement after the 2012 Olympics. In September 2012, Armstrong's Olympic gold medal-winning time trial bike was stolen while in transit between Germany and the USA. In April 2015, Armstrong announced that she would be coming out of retirement to race at the 2015 Pan American Road Championships in Leon, Mexico, having been selected by USA Cycling for the individual time trial. Two days after announcing Armstrong's selection, however, the USA Cycling Selection Committee reconvened, deciding that the new selection process under which Armstrong had been chosen had not been published in a timely manner, and that as a result the federation's older Principles of Athlete Selection, which had been issued in 2008, should be used instead for selection to the Pan American Championships. The upshot was that Armstrong's place was taken by Tayler Wiles. The following month, Armstrong won the

United States National Time Trial Championships The United States National Time Trial Championships are held annually to decide the American champions in this cycling discipline, across various age and gender categories. Originally, in 1975, the time trial event distance was 25 miles. It lat ...

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020 ...

, beating Carmen Small by 13 seconds. In August 2016, Armstrong made history at the 2016 Summer Olympics in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

after coming out of retirement to win the gold medal in the women's individual time trial and becoming the first rider ever to win three gold medals in the same discipline. She also became the oldest female cyclist to win an Olympic medal. In September 2017 Armstrong joined

USA Cycling USA Cycling or USAC, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the national governing body for bicycle racing in the United States. It covers the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, cyclo-cross, and BMX across all ages and ability level ...

as Endurance Performance Director. In December 2019 Armstrong created and launched her bike computer mount line of products calle
KX3 Sports

Personal life

Armstrong's father was an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

in the

US Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. Born in

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, she lived in Tennessee and

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and attended high school in

Havelock, North Carolina Havelock is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 20,735 at the 2010 census. The city is home to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, the world's largest Marine Corps air station, and home to the 2nd Mari ...

, and abroad in

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, Japan, where she graduated from

Kubasaki High School is a United States Department of Defense Dependents School on Okinawa. Kubasaki is the second oldest operating high school in the Department of Defense Dependents Schools system.CORRECTIONS TO THE POST-WAR HISTORY OF AMERICAN DEPENDENT SCHOOLS ON ...

in 1991. She enrolled at the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, where she ran track for the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...

for a season as a walk-on and was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma

sorority Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...

. Armstrong earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from UI in sports physiology in 1995, and currently lives in

Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area' ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

. She is often confused with the ex-wife of fellow cyclist

Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong ('' né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005 after recovering fr ...

, whose name is also Kristin. Kristin Armstrong the cyclist and Lance Armstrong are not related. Armstrong is married to Joe Savola; their son Lucas William Savola was born on September 15, 2010. Four months before his birth, she gave the commencement address at her alma mater in May 2010.

Major results

;2003 : 2nd Road race, National Road Championships : 3rd Bronze medal blank

Time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

, Pan American Games : 5th Australia World Cup : 10th Overall

;2004 : 1st MaillotUSA

Road race, National Road Championships : 2nd Overall

::1st Prologue : 4th Overall

Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin The Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin was the longest running UCI event on the women's elite cycle racing calendar. It had been held annually in the Aude Aude (; ) is a department in Southern France, located in the Occitanie region and nam ...

: 5th Overall

Redlands Bicycle Classic The Redlands Bicycle Classic is a cycling stage race located in Redlands, California, United States that has been held since 1985. It consists of three road races, an individual time trial and a criterium A criterium, or crit, is a bike race ...

::1st Stage 3 : 8th Road race, Summer Olympics ;2005 : 1st PanAmericanJersey

Time trial, Pan American Road Championships : 1st MaillotUSA

, National Road Championships : 1st Overall

::1st Prologue & Stage 2 : 1st Overall Valley of the Sun Stage Race ::1st Stage 1 : 1st Stage 1 International Tour de Toona : 2nd Silver medal america

Individual pursuit, Pan American Track Championships : 2nd Overall San Dimas Stage Race ::1st Stage 1 : 2nd Overall

Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche is a women's staged cycle race which takes place in the Ardèche region in southeastern France. The race was rated by the UCI as a 2.2 race, until 2018 when it was promoted to 2.1 status. Fo ...

: 3rd

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and a mixed team relay. Events ...

: 3rd Individual pursuit, National Track Championships : 3rd Overall

: 5th Overall

;2006 : 1st Jersey rainbow

: National Road Championships ::1st MaillotUSA

Road race ::1st MaillotUSA

: 1st Overall North Star Grand Prix ::1st Stages 1 ( ITT) & 4 : 1st Overall International Tour de Toona ::1st Stage 3 : 1st Overall

::1st Stages 2 & 5 : 1st Overall Euregio Ladies Tour ::1st Stage 1 :

Cascade Cycling Classic The Cascade Cycling Classic was the longest running elite road bicycle racing stage race in the United States (1980–2019), with 2018 being the only year the race was not held. The race took place in the Central Oregon region and was based in ...

::1st Stages 2 & 3 ( ITT) : 3rd Bronze medal blank

Individual pursuit,

2005–06 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics The 2005–2006 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics is a multi race tournament over a season of track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicy ...

, Sydney : 3rd Coupe du Monde Cycliste Féminine de Montréal : 6th Overall

: 6th Overall Tour du Grand Montréal : 7th Overall Holland Ladies Tour ;2007 : National Road Championships ::1st MaillotUSA

::2nd Road race : 1st Overall North Star Grand Prix ::1st Stages 3 ( ITT), 5 & 6 : 1st Jersey orange

Overall Holland Ladies Tour ::1st Jersey polkadot

Mountains classification ::1st Stage 7 ( ITT) : 1st Overall International Tour de Toona ::1st Stage 6 : 1st Souvenir Magali Pache : 2nd Silver medal blank

: 5th

La Flèche Wallonne Féminine La Flèche Wallonne Féminine is a professional women's bicycle road race held each year in Wallonia, Belgium, in April. It is part of the UCI Women's World Tour, cycling's season-long competition of top-tier races, in which it is the third-old ...

;2008 : 1st Gold medal olympic

, Summer Olympics : 1st Overall Women's Tour of New Zealand ::1st Stages 3 & 5 ( ITT) : 1st Overall North Star Grand Prix ::1st Stages 1, 3 ( ITT), 5 & 6 : 1st Overall

::1st Stages 1, 3 ( ITT) & 5 : 1st Novilon Eurocup Ronde van Drenthe : 1st Boise Twilight Criterium : 2nd

Tour of Flanders for Women The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), formerly the Tour of Flanders for Women ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen voor Vrouwen), is an annual road bicycle racing event in Flanders, Belgium, held in early April. It is held on the same day as t ...

: 3rd

Team pursuit, 2007–08 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

: 5th

: 5th Coupe du Monde Cycliste Féminine de Montréal : 10th

Ronde van Drenthe Ronde van Drenthe ( en, Tour of Drenthe) is an elite men's and women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the Drenthe, Netherlands and sanctioned by the Royal Dutch Cycling Union. Since 1998 there is also a women's event, kn ...

; 2009 :

::1st

::4th Road race : 1st Overall

::1st Stages 1, 3 ( ITT) & 5 : 1st Overall North Star Grand Prix ::1st Stages 1 ( ITT) & 6 : 1st Overall

::1st Stage 3 : 1st

Tour de Berne Tour de Berne is an elite professional road bicycle racing event held in Berne, Switzerland with races for men and women. Men's event The men's event began in 1920 and has previously been a UCI 1.2 rated event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Co ...

: 1st Open de Suède Vårgårda TTT : 3rd Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio : 4th Overall

::1st Stage 5 ;2011 : 1st Overall

::1st Stages 1, 2 & 3 ( ITT) : 1st Tour of California Women's Time Trial : 2nd

Chrono des Nations Chrono des Nations – Les Herbiers Vendée is a single-day individual time trial road bicycle race held annually in October in Les Herbiers, Vendée, France. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It was orig ...

: 3rd

, National Road Championships : 3rd Overall North Star Grand Prix ::1st Stage 1 ( ITT) : 4th Overall San Dimas Stage Race : 6th Overall

: 7th Overall

;2012 : 1st Gold medal olympic

, Summer Olympics : 1st Overall San Dimas Stage Race ::1st Stages 1 & 2 ( ITT) : 1st Overall

::1st Stages 1, 2, 3 ( ITT) & 5 : 1st Tour of California Women's Time Trial : 1st Stage 1 ( ITT) Energiewacht Tour :

::1st Prologue, Stages 1 & 2 ( ITT) : 2nd

: 8th Overall Women's Tour of New Zealand ::1st Stage 1 ( ITT) ;2015 : 1st MaillotUSA

, National Road Championships : 1st Overall Women's USA Pro Challenge ::1st Stage 1 ( ITT) : 1st Stage 3 ( ITT)

: 2nd Overall

::1st Stages 1 & 2 ( ITT) : 3rd Tour of California Women's Time Trial : 5th

;2016 : 1st Gold medal olympic

, Summer Olympics : 1st Overall San Dimas Stage Race ::1st Stage 1 ( ITT) : 1st Overall

::1st Stage 3 : 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 3 ( ITT) : 2nd Overall

Tour of California The Tour of California (officially sponsored as the Amgen Tour of California) was an annual professional road cycling stage race on the UCI World Tour and USA Cycling Professional Tour that ran from 2006 to 2019. It was the only event on the ...

::1st Stage 2 ( TTT) : 2nd Overall

: 3rd

, National Road Championships

References

External links

* *
Cycling News.com
– The other Armstrong: more than a water-carrier – October 29, 2003
Cascade Cycling Classic
– 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Kristin 1973 births Living people American female cyclists Olympic gold medalists for the United States in cycling UCI Road World Champions (women) Olympic medalists in cycling Cyclists at the 2003 Pan American Games Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics American cycling road race champions University of Idaho alumni Sportspeople from Memphis, Tennessee Sportspeople from Boise, Idaho Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in cycling Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States People from Havelock, North Carolina Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games 21st-century American women Cyclists from North Carolina