Hello, cyclists! Today’s post is inspired by the 2018 Olympics currently occurring in Pyeongchang. Although these are the winter olympics, the competitive sports events have got me thinking about Olympic cycling. The last summer Olympics took place in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and the next is due to be in Tokyo in 2020.
To honor some of the most phenomenal cycling athletes who have won medals throughout the past several summer Olympics, I’ll be sharing their mini-biographies in this article.
Chris Hoy: 2012 gold medal winner in track cycling
“Sir Christopher Andrew Hoy, MBE (born 23 March 1976), known as Chris Hoy, is a British racing driver and former track cyclist who represented Great Britain at the Olympics and World Championships and Scotland at the Commonwealth Games.
Hoy is eleven-times a world champion and six-times an Olympic champion. With a total of seven Olympic medals, six gold and one silver, Hoy is the second most decorated Olympic cyclist of all time.
With his three gold medals in 2008 Summer Olympics, Hoy became Scotland’s most successful Olympian, the first British athlete to win three gold medals in a single Olympic Games since Henry Taylor in 1908, and the most successful Olympic cyclist of all time. After winning a further two gold medals (in the keirin and team sprint) at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Hoy has won more Olympic gold medals (six) than any other British athlete along with Jason Kenny, and more total medals (seven) than any except fellow cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins.” (Wikipedia)
Jason Kenny: 2016 gold medal winner in track cycling
Jason Francis Kenny, CBE (born 23 March 1988) is an English track cyclist, specialising in the individual and team sprints. After winning multiple World and European Junior titles in 2006 and achieving medals in the under 23 European championships in 2007, Kenny was selected ahead of Ross Edgar to compete for Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Along with Chris Hoy and Jamie Staff, he won a gold medal in the team sprint, breaking the world record in the qualifying round. He finished behind team-mate Chris Hoy in the final of the individual sprint, gaining a silver medal.
In January 2012, he gained his first world championship title, after Grégory Baugé’s results were nullified after a backdated 12-month ban for missing a drugs test, and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) promoted Kenny to the gold medal. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, he won gold medals in both the team sprint and in the individual sprint, beating Baugé in the final. At the 2016 Summer Olympics Kenny repeated his 2012 wins in the Team Sprint and the Individual Sprint, and also won a Gold Medal the Keirin,
Kenny is the joint holder of the highest number of Olympic Golds for a British athlete alongside fellow track cyclist Chris Hoy. Kenny’s six Olympic gold medals place him the joint 27th in terms of gold medals won in the modern Summer Olympic games since 1896 with only Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt winning more since the Games of the new millennium in 2000. (Jason Kenny – Wikipedia)
Maris Strombergs: 2012 gold medal winner in BMX racing
Māris Štrombergs (born March 10, 1987 in Valmiera) is a Latvian professional BMX racer. In the 2008 Summer Olympics he became the first Olympic champion in BMX cycling. Earlier that year he won the 2008 UCI BMX World Championships. In 2012 he prolonged his Olympic title by winning the gold medal in the London Olympics.[2]
He is currently trained by Ivo Lakučs. His first trainer was Raimonds Ciesnieks. Māris Štrombergs completed the Olympic 2008 BMX in about 36 seconds. Māris completed the Olympic 2012 BMX course in 37,576 seconds. Upon returning from the 2012 Olympics he was greeted by thousands of fans in hometown Valmiera. (Wikipedia)
Connor Fields: 2016 gold medal winner in BMX racing
Connor Fields (born September 14, 1992) is an American professional BMX racer. He represented the United States at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the men’s BMX event and finished 7th overall. He represented the United States again at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the men’s BMX event. He won the gold medal in Rio de Janeiro, and became the first American to win an Olympic BMX gold. (Wikipedia)
Jaroslav Kulhavy: 2012 gold medal winner in cross-country mountain biking
Jaroslav Kulhavý, born 8 January 1985, in Ústí nad Orlicí, is a Czech mountain biker. He is currently riding for the Specialized Racing team. He won the gold medal in the cross-countryevent at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the silver medal four years later at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He is the overall winner of the UCI World Cup in 2011, along with taking 3rd place in 2010 and 2012. In 2013 and 2015 Kulhavy partnered with Christoph Sauser to win the Absa Cape Epic mountain bike stage race (“Tour de France of mountain biking”) Kulhavy raced the Absa Cape Epic with Sauser again in March, 2017, but their bid for a third win together was foiled by Nino Schurter and Matthias Stirnemann (Scott-Sram), who eventually prevailed by eight minutes. In June 2014 he took the world title in mountain bike marathon. At the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016 he came in second in the cross country race. Shortly after the start, he entered the front group and gradually formed a leading couple along with Nino Schurter, who was slowly passing by. In the penultimate sixth lap, Kulhavý was unable to respond to the arrival of a Swiitzerland cyclist and a gap grew gradually between the two rivals. Jaroslav Kulhavý, however, watched his second place and won the silver medal. (Wikipedia)
Nino Schurter: 2016 gold medal winner in cross-country mountain biking
Nino Schurter (born 13 May 1986) is a Swiss cross-country cyclist who races for the SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing Team. Schurter won the world championship in men’s cross-country in 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 and the overall UCI World Cup in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017. He won the gold medal in mountain biking at the 2016 Olympics, the silver medal 2012 Olympics and the bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics. He won the Swiss National Championship in cross-country mountain biking in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015. He joined Orica–GreenEDGE for a number of road races during the 2014 season. (Wikipedia)
Many thanks for reading, everyone! As always, happy cycling!
-Barton Haynes
Photo Sources:
- Chris Hoy – The Olympic Heroes for Dudes and Dudettes
- Jason Kenny’s father says knighthood is the ‘last thing’ on the …
- Maris Strombergs Photos Photos – UCI BMX Supercross – Zimbio
- Top US BMX rider Connor Fields back from hand injury | The Indian …
- Jaroslav Kulhavy Photos Photos – Olympics Day 16 – Cycling …
- Nino Schurter | Laureus