Kristin Armstrong

'''Kristin Armstrong''' (born August 11, 1973, in [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], [[Tennessee]]) is a professional [[road bicycle racer]] and Olympic gold medalist, the winner of the [[Cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Women's road time trial|Women's Time Trial]] at the [[2008 Summer Olympics]] in [[Beijing]]. Before temporarily retiring to start a family in 2009, she rode for {{ct|CWT|2009}} in women's elite professional events on the National Racing Calendar (NRC) and [[World Cup of Road Cycling (women)|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 distance runner in college and then became a [[triathlon|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 arthritis 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 [[Cycling at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Women's road race|women's road race]] at the [[United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics|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 [[Cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Women's road time trial|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]] 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 will return to competitive cycling, with a possible goal of competing in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. 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,” said Kristin Armstrong. “I told myself from the beginning if everything went smoothly with the birth of our son, Lucas William, I would consider racing again.” Armstrong will be competing on a team she is a part owner of, Peanut Butter & Co. Team TWENTY12. " In 2011, Armstrong did indeed return with Peanut Butter & Co. Team TWENTY12. 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. ==Personal life== Born into a military family, she lived in [[Tennessee]] and [[California]] and attended high school in [[Japan]]; Armstrong earned a bachelor's degree in sports physiology from the [[University of Idaho]] in 1995, and currently lives in [[Boise, Idaho|Boise]], [[Idaho]]. She is often confused with [[Lance Armstrong]]'s ex-wife, 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. == Major achievements == {{Palmares start}} 2002 – USA National-T Mobile : 7th overall – [[Women's Challenge|HP Women's Challenge]] 2003 – T-Mobile Professional Women's Team : 3rd (Bronze) – Women's Time Trial, [[Pan American Games]] : 5th – Geelong World Cup : 13th – [[World Championship of Road Cycling (women)|World Time Trial Championships]] 2004 – T-Mobile Professional Women's Team : [[File:MaillotUSA.PNG|20px]] USA National Women's Road Race Champion : 8th – [[Cycling at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Women's road race|Women's Road Race]], [[2004 Summer Olympics]] in [[Athens, Greece|Athens]] : 1st, Stage 3, [[Redlands Bicycle Classic]] : 1st, Prologue, [[Sea Otter Classic]], [[Laguna Seca]] : 2nd, General Classification, [[Sea Otter Classic]] 2005 – T-Mobile Professional Women's Team : 3rd (Bronze) – [[UCI Road World Championships - Women's Time Trial|UCI Road World Championships Time Trial]] : 1st, [[Pan American Road and Track Championships|Pan American]] Continental Women's Time Trial : [[File:MaillotUSA.PNG|20px]] USA National Women's Time Trial Champion : 3rd, National Championship, Track, Pursuit : 1st overall and 2 stages (Prologue and Stage 2) win – [[Sea Otter Classic]] : 2nd (Silver) – Women's 3km Individual Pursuit, [[Pan American Road and Track Championships]] : 3rd overall – [[Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin]] : 3rd, Stage 1 – Thüringen-Rundfahrt der Frauen : 1st, Stage 1, [[Valley of the Sun Stage Race]] : 1st, General Classification, [[Valley of the Sun Stage Race]] : 1st, Stage 1, [[San Dimas Stage Race]] : 2nd, General Classification, [[San Dimas Stage Race]] : 1st, Stage 1, [[Tour de Toona]] : 2nd, General Classification, [[Tour de l'Ardèche]] 2006 – [[Team Lipton]] : {{flagiconUCI}} 1st (Gold) – [[UCI Road World Championships - Women's Time Trial|UCI Road World Championship Women's Time Trial]] : [[File:MaillotUSA.PNG|20px]] [[2006 National Cycling Championships|USA National Championship Women's Time Trial]] : [[File:MaillotUSA.PNG|20px]] [[2006 National Cycling Championships|USA National Championship Women's Road Race]] : 1st overall – [[Nature Valley Grand Prix]] :: 1st, Stage 1 – [[Saint Paul, Minnesota|Saint Paul]] Waterfront [[Individual time trial|Time Trial]] :: 1st, Stage 4 – [[Mankato]] Road Race : [[Cascade Cycling Classic]] :: 1st, Stage 2 – Cascade Lakes Road Race :: 1st, Stage 3 – Arnold Market Time Trial : 3rd overall – [[La Coupe du Monde Cycliste Féminine de Montréal]] : 1st, General Classification, [[Tour de Toona]] : 1st, Stage 3, [[Tour de Toona]], [[Altoona]] : 3rd, World Cup, Track, Pursuit, [[Sydney]] : 1st overall and one stage win (Stage 2), [[Tour of the Gila]], [[Mogollon culture|Mogollon]] : 1st, Stage 1, [[Euregio Ladies Tour]], [[Leende]] : 1st, General Classification, [[Euregio Ladies Tour]] 2007 – [[Team Lipton]] : [[File:MaillotUSA.PNG|20px]] [[2007 National Cycling Championships|USA National Championship Women's Time Trial]] : 2nd, [[2007 National Cycling Championships|National Championship Women's Road Race]] : 1st overall and 3 stage wins – [[Nature Valley Grand Prix]] : 1st overall, mountains and 1 stage win (ITT) – [[2007 Holland Ladies Tour|Holland Ladies Tour]] : 2nd (Silver) – [[UCI Road World Championships - Women's Time Trial|UCI Road World Championships Time Trial]] : 1st, [[Souvenir Magali Pache]] : 1st, Stage 6, [[Tour de Toona]] : 1st, General Classification, [[Tour de Toona]] 2008 – [[Cervélo TestTeam (women)|Cervélo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team]] : 1st, General Classification, NZCT Women's Tour of New Zealand : 3rd, World Cup, Track, Team Pursuit, [[Los Angeles]] : 1st overall and 3 stage wins – [[Nature Valley Grand Prix]] : 1st overall and 3 stage wins – [[Cascade Cycling Classic]] : 1st – [[Boise Twilight Criterium]] : 1st – [[Cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's road time trial|Olympic Women's Time Trial]] 2009 – [[Cervélo TestTeam (women)|Cervélo TestTeam]] : {{flagiconUCI}} 1st (Gold) – [[UCI Road World Championships - Women's Time Trial|UCI Road World Championship Women's Time Trial]] : 1st, General Classification and 3 stage wins – [[Tour of the Gila]] 2011 – [[Peanut Butter & Co.]] Team TWENTY12 : 1st overall and 3 stage wins – [[Sea Otter Classic]] : 1st, Women's Time Trial – [[Tour of California]] {{Palmares end}} == External links == * [http://www.kristinarmstrongusa.com Kristin Armstrong USA] - official site * [http://www.teamlipton.com/team_lipton/team_info/rider_bios.asp?rider=kristen_armstrong TEAm Lipton.com] - rider's bio * [http://cycling.teamusa.org/athlete/athlete/434 TeamUSA.org] - U.S. Olympic Team biography * [http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/riders/2003/interviews/?id=kristinarmstrong03 Cycling News.com] - The other Armstrong: more than a water-carrier - 29-Oct-2003 * [http://www.mbsef.org/_files/file/2008CCCResults/Stg06r00Rpt02RacerGC%20women.pdf Cascade Cycling Classic] - 2008 results {{Persondata | NAME = Armstrong, Kristin | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = American racing cyclist | DATE OF BIRTH = August 11, 1973 | PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], [[Tennessee]], [[United States of America|U.S.]] | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Kristin}}