Cycling 'supermom' wins third consecutive Olympic gold

Cycling 'supermom' wins third consecutive Olympic gold. August. 12, 2016 07:25. by 임보미기자 bom@donga.com. "I'm just an ordinary mom who works at the hospital and raises a kid. For all moms out there, I hope that this was a very inspiring day."

U.S. cyclist Kristin Armstrong collected her third consecutive Olympic gold medal, winning the road race in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday. Beside her new collection hang two other gold medals won first at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and second at the 2012 London Olympics. Joining Team USA as the eldest among the 25 members this year, Armstrong has become the first cyclist to win at the Olympics three times in a row. What's more, the gold medal has become an unforgettable birthday present for Armstrong, who turns 43 on Thursday.

　

After grabbing the gold medal in the Beijing Olympics, Armstrong retired in 2009. However, she came out of retirement in 2011, registered her second gold medal in the London Olympics, but again resigned from her athletic life. Since then, she has been juggling work and family as a mother of a son and the director of community health at a local hospital in Idaho. When she returned to the track last May, many questioned her comeback after already being crowned twice." Armstrong responded with a simple and straightforward answer: "Because I can (win), and because I love cycling."

Armstrong hit back at the doubters, covering the 29.7-km course in 44:26.42. She came in 5.55 seconds faster than Russian cyclist Olga Zabelinskaya. Crying tears of joy, she hugged her five-year-old son, Lucas, who was waiting at the finish line.

"I think for so long we've been told that we should be finished at a certain age. And I think that there's a lot of athletes out there that are actually showing that that's not true," the three-time gold medalist said. "Lucas calls me Kristin Armstrong, not momma, when I'm on the bike."