American cyclist Kristin Armstrong wins gold in women's time trial

RIO DE JANEIRO — Kristin Armstrong fought off rain, a tough Russian challenger and a nose bleed to capture the gold medal in the Olympic cycling individual time trial on Wednesday morning, finishing with a time of 44 minutes, 26.42 seconds. It is her third consecutive gold in the event.

It was also a welcome birthday present for Armstrong. She turns 43 tomorrow.

After the race, she dropped off her bike and collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Her son was then lifted over the fence and he sprinted into her arms. The two held each other in an embrace, just beyond the finish line, as the cameras flashed.

“It’s super special for my son. He understands what just happened,” she said. “But he did ask me, ‘Momma, why are you crying? You won.’ I said, wow, that’s a great question from a 5-year-old. But I told him, ‘That’s what we do. We cry when we’re happy.’”

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Armstrong was the last cyclist to take off on the day, and with the course becoming wetter by the minute in the morning rain, some worried she wouldn’t be able to log a fast time with the worsening conditions.

The worries were unfounded. The Boise, Idaho resident leaped out to a quick start, logging the fastest 10-kilometer split of the day with a time of 17:07.93, nearly five seconds better than the closest competitor.

It was during this stretch that Armstrong developed a nosebleed, though after the race she wasn’t sure why.

"It happened in the first 10K," she said. "I'm not sure why. I sometimes get them in dry weather, but this, I don't know."

In the next 10K split, Armstrong maintained focus, but lost some time, dropping two seconds behind Russia’s Olga Zabelinskaya, who had a strong late push to finish the race at 44:31.97. It would be good enough for silver.

Zabelinskaya just completed an 18-month ban after she tested positive for a banned stimulant in 2014.

After the race, Armstrong wouldn’t discuss Zabelinskaya’s positive test, saying that she chooses to focus on what she can control.

Armstrong did say that she was inspired by her teammate Mara Abbott, who devastatingly missed out on the podium in the road race event after she was passed by three riders in the closing stretch.

“The last 24 hours, Mara’s been leaving me notes,” Armstrong said after taking gold. “I found one in my coffee cup yesterday, it said: ‘You’re a champion.” I went to brush my hair, I found another one on my brush. Last night I went to bed, and there was another one on my pillow. And this morning, on my podium bag, there was another one.”

“About 5K to go, my coach said ‘Alright, here we go. It’s up to you what color medal you want,’” Armstrong said. “I thought, I have to give it everything for my team. I have to give it everything for Mara.”

Armstrong’s place in Rio was not without controversy. Last month, U.S. time trials champion Carmen Small called for an arbitration hearing after she was left off the team, arguing that Armstrong had been chosen unfairly. USA Cycling listened to Small’s argument, but ultimately decided Armstrong would be on the team in Rio.

The third gold will hopefully allow Armstrong to continue her campaign to help the public understand that she is not the wife of Lance Armstrong, whose ex-wife is also named Kristin. The gold medalist Armstrong is married to Joe Saviola.

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