Armstrong, the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 champion, powered to another gold medal with a time of 44min 26.42 to make it a historic hat-trick.
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“I don’t have words to describe it”. “When I looked out of the window at 4am I thought, ‘Oh no!’ But I had two choices, get nervous, or say I’m the most experienced person out here and just attack it”.
Armstrong, who was the last women to set off and was the oldest women in the race by seven years, was already in charge by the first checkpoint, leading by a considerable amount.
“I have to teach him that participation is good”.
“I have always loved that we were all born with the power to believe and to believe in ourselves”, Armstrong said later. Abbott left her notes – on her coffee cup, on her hairbrush, on her pillow, and then in her podium bag – reminding her that she’s a champion. The support she has given me since her race is phenomenal. Today the stars aligned.
“I hurt so bad out there today, and coach kept telling me to go deeper and deeper”.
Savola said the first-place ranking was Armstrong’s answer to critics and those who said she did not belong on the USA team.
Armstrong’s victory quickly became a family affair as she capped off ideal day, embracing her five-year-old son Lucas at the finish line.
The city of Boise is in the process of planning a celebration to welcome Armstrong and honor her historic win.
Kristin Armstrong is heading into her 43rd birthday in style. Her five-year-old son asked “why are you crying mama?” “And I went from exhaustion, joy and I saw my son and started just crying”.
“That’s what we do, we cry when we’re happy, ” she replied. “I’m able to adjust to the time zone and the food”. That was my vision, that was my dream. And, they said, at 42 she was too old.
Olga Zabelinskaya won bronze in both the road race and the time trial in London in 2012, only to fail a drugs test for a performance enhancing substance and serve an 18 month suspension in 2014. It didn’t always used to be that hard.
“Working at a great hospital in Boise, Idaho, and being a mom has been my secret weapon”.
Unlike other years when the proud Idahoan has competed in the Olympic Games, this time she’s actually going to stick around Rio to enjoy the trip. “(It) keeps my on track and super focused”.
Australian Katrin Garfoot, who finished ninth, also preferred not to pass judgment, adding “karma hopefully will sort everything out that should or should not be out there”. “I spend time with people in my community, and that’s what I’m grateful for”. “When I won my first gold medal, it didn’t sink for a while”.
“Every one of the gold medals has been a different journey. So when I came back I was focused on Rio and it’s been hard because I’ve had some poor performances over the last six months”.
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Zabelinskaya was the latest Russian being questioned about participation at the Rio Games in the wake of allegations of state-sponsored drug use.
