Rio 2016 cycling: history made as Kristin Armstrong wins third consecutive time trial gold for USA
US rider joins speed skater Bonnie Blair as the only American women to win three gold medals in the same event at any Olympic Games
Kristin Armstrong won her third women's individual time trial gold medal (Photo: Getty Images)
Kristin Armstrong won her third consecutive Olympic time trial Wednesday, (10 August) her golden effort leaving her in an exhausted heap on the road at the finish line.
Armstrong covered the course through driving wind and rain in 44 minutes, 26.42 seconds, beating reigning bronze medalist Olga Zabelinskaya of Russia by just 5.55 seconds.
Anna van der Breggen of the Netherlands added a bronze medal to her gold from the road race. Dutch rider Ellen van Dijk slid off the course, likely costing her a medal. She finished fourth.
Tenth gold for USA
The win marks the 10th gold medal for USA, and came just one day before Armstrong's 43rd birthday. Armstrong, who was the last of the 25 cyclists to race on Wednesday morning, collapsed to the ground in tears after crossing the finish line after learning she had earned another gold medal for her country.
Kristin Armstrong after winning at Pontal on (Photo: Getty Images/Bryn Lennon)
An elated Armstrong said after the race: "I don't have words to describe it. When you've already been two times at the pinnacle of the sport, why risk coming back for the gold medal? The best answer I can give is that I can. Today the stars aligned.
"I knew it was going to be a close race. My coach said to me, 'OK, you decide what colour medal you want to have.' I dug so deep. To hear the national anthem on the podium, that's my favourite part of the Olympics."
Dutch rider homeward bound
Meanwhile, Annemiek van Vleuten has been released from the hospital following her crash in the Olympic road race Sunday and has been cleared to fly home to the Netherlands on Friday.
Van Vleuten flipped hard onto her head on the final descent with her bike catapulting farther down the road. She lay motionless as the rest of the field passed her on the way to the finish. She sustained a concussion and three spinal fractures in the crash.
Van Vleuten said she is staying in a hotel rather than the Olympic village to better recover, and "the concussion is the reason they want to keep me here" a couple more days. Her team-mate Anna van der Breggen won the Olympic road race.
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