Kristin Armstrong Savola (; born August 11, 1973) is a former professional

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

and three-time Olympic gold medalist, the winner of the women's individual time trial in

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 gather ...

, 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 trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. 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. She spent many hours perfecting her strokes in the pool at the Boise Family YMCA, where she also served as Director of Aquatics, managing more than 50 lifeguards, swim instructors, and others. She was diagnosed with osteoarthritis 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 The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

in Athens. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

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 from Great Britain, with

Karin Thürig Karin Thürig (born 4 July 1972 in Rothenburg, Switzerland, Rothenburg) is a Switzerland, Swiss professional racing cyclist and triathlete. She is the winner of the 2004 and 2005 UCI Road World Championships – Women's time trial. In 2011, she ...

from

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

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

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. 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 in April. However, during the first stage of the Tour of the Gila, 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 individual time trial 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 The Pan American Road Championships are the continental cycling championships for road bicycle racing held annually for member nations of the Pan American Cycling Confederation. Riders competing in the Pan American Cycling Championships are sel ...

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

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

in Rio de Janeiro 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 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 in the US Marines. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, she lived in Tennessee and California and attended high school in Havelock, North Carolina, and abroad in Okinawa,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, where she graduated from Kubasaki High School in 1991. She enrolled at the University of Idaho in Moscow, where she ran track for the Vandals for a season as a

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music * ''Walk On'', a 1994 album by Boston, and its title song Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album), 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album), 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album), 1992 *''Walk On'', a 2007 album by ...

and was a member of the

Kappa Kappa Gamma Kappa Kappa Gamma (), also known simply as Kappa or KKG, is a collegiate sorority founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, United States. It has a membership of more than 260,000 women, with 140 collegiate chapters in the United States a ...

sorority. Armstrong earned a bachelor's degree from UI in sports physiology in 1995, and currently lives in Boise, Idaho. She is often confused with the ex-wife of fellow cyclist Lance Armstrong, 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,

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

: 5th

Australia World Cup The Australia World Cup was a women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in Australia from 1998 to 2008 as part of the UCI Women's Road World Cup. The location of the race varied: in 1998, it was held in Sydney; from 1999 to ...

: 10th Overall Sea Otter Classic ;2004 : 1st MaillotUSA

Road race, National Road Championships : 2nd Overall Sea Otter Classic ::1st Prologue : 4th Overall Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin : 5th Overall

Redlands Bicycle Classic The Redlands Bicycle Classic is a cycling stage race located in Redlands, California Redlands ( ) is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 73,168, up from 68,747 at t ...

::1st Stage 3 : 8th Road race,

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

;2005 : 1st PanAmericanJersey

Time trial,

: 1st

Time trial, National Road Championships : 1st Overall Sea Otter Classic ::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 The Pan American Track Championships are the continental cycling championships for track cycling held annually for member nations of the Pan American Cycling Confederation. Riders competing in the Pan American Cycling Championships are selected ...

: 2nd Overall

San Dimas Stage Race The San Dimas Stage Race is a stage cycling race held annually in the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern po ...

::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. Follo ...

: 3rd

Time trial, UCI Road World Championships : 3rd Individual pursuit,

National Track Championships National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

: 3rd Overall Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin : 5th Overall

;2006 : 1st Jersey rainbow

Time trial, UCI Road World Championships : National Road Championships ::1st MaillotUSA

Road race ::1st MaillotUSA

Time trial : 1st Overall

North Star Grand Prix The North Star Grand Prix is a men's and women's road bicycle racing stage race held each June in Minnesota, United States, as part of the North Star Bicycle Festival. An event was added in North Mankato in 2016. The North Star Grand Prix is one o ...

::1st Stages 1 (

ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...

) & 4 : 1st Overall International Tour de Toona ::1st Stage 3 : 1st Overall Tour of the Gila ::1st Stages 2 & 5 : 1st Overall Euregio Ladies Tour ::1st Stage 1 : Cascade Cycling Classic ::1st Stages 2 & 3 (

) : 3rd

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 bicycl ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

: 3rd

Coupe du Monde Cycliste Féminine de Montréal The Coupe du Monde Cycliste Féminine de Montréal ( en, Women's Cycling World Cup of Montreal, or simply Montreal World Cup) was an elite women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually between 1998 and 2009 in Montréal, Quebec, Cana ...

: 6th Overall

Tour du Grand Montréal The Tour du Grand Montréal was an annual women's road bicycle racing stage-race in Canada, between 2002 and 2009 in women's road cycling, 2009. It was rated by the Union Cycliste Internationale, UCI as a UCI race classifications, 2.1 category race ...

: 7th Overall Holland Ladies Tour ;2007 : National Road Championships ::1st MaillotUSA

Time trial ::2nd Road race : 1st Overall

::1st Stages 3 (

), 5 & 6 : 1st Jersey orange

Overall Holland Ladies Tour ::1st Jersey polkadot

Mountains classification ::1st Stage 7 (

) : 1st Overall International Tour de Toona ::1st Stage 6 : 1st Souvenir Magali Pache : 2nd Silver medal blank

Time trial, UCI Road World Championships : 5th La Flèche Wallonne Féminine ;2008 : 1st Gold medal olympic

Time trial,

: 1st Overall

Women's Tour of New Zealand The Women's Tour of New Zealand is a stage race for elite women road cyclists held in New Zealand at the end of February or the beginning of March. It is rated as 2.2 on the UCI classification scheme. It was not held in 2013 or 2014, but return ...

::1st Stages 3 & 5 (

) : 1st Overall

::1st Stages 1, 3 (

), 5 & 6 : 1st Overall Cascade Cycling Classic ::1st Stages 1, 3 (

) & 5 : 1st Novilon Eurocup Ronde van Drenthe : 1st Boise Twilight Criterium : 2nd Tour of Flanders for Women : 3rd Bronze medal blank

Team pursuit,

2007–08 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics The 2007–2008 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics was a multi race competition over a season of track cycling. The season began on 30 November 2007 and ended on 17 February 2008. The World Cup is organised by the UCI. The 2007–2008 ...

, Los Angeles : 5th Time trial, UCI Road World Championships : 5th

: 10th Ronde van Drenthe ;

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

: UCI Road World Championships ::1st Jersey rainbow

Time trial ::4th Road race : 1st Overall Tour of the Gila ::1st Stages 1, 3 (

) & 5 : 1st Overall

::1st Stages 1 (

) & 6 : 1st Overall

::1st Stage 3 : 1st Tour de Berne : 1st

Open de Suède Vårgårda TTT Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999 * ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001 * ''Open'' (Y ...

: 3rd

Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio is a women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the ''comune'' (municipality) of Cittiglio and nearby comunes located within the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy. Sin ...

: 4th Overall Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin ::1st Stage 5 ;2011 : 1st Overall Sea Otter Classic ::1st Stages 1, 2 & 3 (

) : 1st Tour of California Women's Time Trial : 2nd Chrono des Nations : 3rd Time trial, National Road Championships : 3rd Overall

::1st Stage 1 (

) : 4th Overall

: 6th Overall Cascade Cycling Classic : 7th Overall

;2012 : 1st Gold medal olympic

Time trial,

: 1st Overall

::1st Stages 1 & 2 (

) : 1st Overall Tour of the Gila ::1st Stages 1, 2, 3 (

) & 5 : 1st Tour of California Women's Time Trial : 1st Stage 1 (

) Energiewacht Tour : Cascade Cycling Classic ::1st Prologue, Stages 1 & 2 (

) : 2nd Tour of Flanders for Women : 8th Overall

::1st Stage 1 (

) ;2015 : 1st MaillotUSA

Time trial, National Road Championships : 1st Overall Women's USA Pro Challenge ::1st Stage 1 (

) : 1st Stage 3 (

)

: 2nd Overall Cascade Cycling Classic ::1st Stages 1 & 2 (

) : 3rd Tour of California Women's Time Trial : 5th Time trial, UCI Road World Championships ;2016 : 1st Gold medal olympic

Time trial,

: 1st Overall

::1st Stage 1 (

) : 1st Overall

::1st Stage 3 : 2nd Overall Tour of the Gila ::1st Stage 3 (

) : 2nd Overall Tour of California ::1st Stage 2 ( TTT) : 2nd Overall Cascade Cycling Classic : 3rd Time trial, 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