Woman who took beginner's cycling class just 7 years ago becomes Olympic champion

A common misconception about becoming an Olympic athlete is that you have to start when you're a child or you'll never have a chance.

There are of course many examples of Olympians who started in their sports at a very young age.

For example US gymnast Simone Biles has practised gymnastics since she was very little.

It's even a thing where once a regular mortal passes a certain age we know that the possibility of being an Olympian is now gone, even if it was beyond remote to begin with.

Being able to compete at Olympic level means your chosen sport has to be in your very essence, with many athletes dedicating their entire early lives to training.

But one athlete on Team USA has bucked this trend, having taken up her sport a lot later than many people who go on to become Olympic champions.

So who is she?

Meet Olympic cyclist Kristen Faulkner who has had an extraordinary achievement in her Olympic appearance.

While many people started their chosen sport almost as soon as they can walk, Faulkner didn't start hers until seven years ago.

And we're not just talking cycling competitively seven years ago here either, no.

Faulkner was having beginner classes seven years, and only started cycling competitively four years ago.

The 31-year-old has now gone on to win not one but two Olympic gold medals in her first appearance.

Speaking to Reuters, she said: "I'm still pinching myself. It's going to take a long time to sink in. My goal was just to make the Olympics, and then take home a medal. So to take home two is way more than I could have ever dreamed of."

Faulkner grew up in Alaska and went on to study at Harvard.

After graduating she moved to New York to work in venture capital, and took up cycling while living there.

She would cycle before work at 5.00am, and then when she realised she had the flair for it she moved to California to cycle full time.

But if any of you are now thinking that you can take up a sport and make the Olympics in seven years, just hold your horses.

Faulkner may have been new to cycling, but while studying at Harvard she was also on the rowing team.

Rowing is an endurance sport like cycling which will give you an excellent residual fitness if you're going to take up another sport.

So maybe us regular folks should stick to the couch to 5k, trying to do more than two lengths at the pool without stopping, or even just getting up without grunting...

Olympics 2024 highlights - the biggest moments so far

Anthony Ammirati's penis costs him his medal

The 21-year-old French pole vaulter attempted to clear the 5.70 metres on 3 August when his knee - along with his private parts - got in the way, shattering his Olympic dreams.

Iconic shooter Yusuf Dikec wins silver medal with 'no equipment'

Turkey's Yusuf Dikec took a laid back approach when he was spotted looking incredibly relaxed with one hand in his pocket and without any shooting gear on.

It all paid off though as he took home the silver along with his partner Sevval Ilayda Tarhan.

Noah Lyles' 100m victory

Setting a new personal best, Lyles came out on top at the finish line by a margin of just 0.005 seconds, with a final time of 9.784.

The final also marked the fastest race of all time, with all eight athletes crossing the finish line in under 10 seconds.

George Mills and Hugo Hay's 5000m bust up

Chaos erupted when a total of five athletes found themselves face down on the track after an incident left several runners stumbling on top of each other, including Team GB's George Mills and French runner Hugo Hay.

Mills looked as though he had some harsh words for Hay after the tumble which he admitted he was 'probably not allowed to say'.

Snoop Dogg in general

Snoop went viral after he rocked up to the dressage team Grand Prix Special fully kitted out in breeches, a dressage tailcoat and hard hat alongside pal Martha Stewart. Iconic.

Ana Carolina Vieira gets sent home for breaking athletes' village rules with boyfriend

Ana Carolina Vieira was sent home after she and her boyfriend Gabriel Santos - also a swimmer competing in the Olympics - left the village without permission, which is against the Olympic Village rules.

Team GB star becomes first ever Olympian to win medal in both male and female events

Coxswain Henry Fieldman made history when he won bronze at the women's crews event off the back of his bronze win in Tokyo on the men's team.

Fieldman was able to achieve the feat because of a rule change back in 2017 that allows coxes of either gender to steer the eights.

The River Seine drama

While Canada’s Tyler Mislawchuk vomited after swimming in the river, Belgian triathlete Jolien Vermeylen admitted she 'felt and saw things that we shouldn’t think about too much'.

It came after health concerns were raised over the pollution levels in the river, with the country splashing out a cool £1.18 billion on cleaning it up in time for the games.

Freddie Crittenden jogs for entire race on purpose

The Team USA star purposely put on a leisurely performance in his first heat of the Men's 110m hurdles and ended up being the last one to make it across the finish line with a time of 18.27 seconds.

The athlete said it was a calculated move to avoid aggravating a sore muscle in his leg and due to the introduction of repechage rounds, he knew that he'd have another chance at glory.

'Slow pool' accusations

The pool at the Paris La Défense Arena is 2.15 metres deep which is short of the minimum of 2.5 metres that World Aquatics recommends for an Olympic competition, prompting backlash from viewers.

As a result of the difference in depth, an issue called 'slow' swimming is created where the water is more volatile when dispersed than in a deeper pool.

Imane Khelif's opponent quits boxing match 46 seconds in

The Algerian boxer faced Italy's Angela Carini in the round of 16 match on 1 August when Carini - who has since apologised - decided to abandon the match after 46 seconds.

Khelif - who was born and raised a girl - was disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi amid claims from the International Boxing Association that she was not able to meet their unspecified eligibility criteria.

Khelif has since been at the centre of a gender row, and has urged people to 'refrain from bullying all athletes' amid abuse online.

Luana Alonso 'kicked out' of Olympic Village

The Paraguayan swimmer was said to have been asked to leave the village amid accusations of creating an 'inappropriate environment', according to a statement from her team.

Alonso - who also announced her retirement from the sport - has since denied the claims and urged people to 'stop spreading false information'.

Gold medal winner Thomas Ceccon spotted sleeping in park amid village complaints

The athlete, who won gold in the men's 100m backstroke, was spotted taking a nap outside by Saudi rower Husein Alireza who posted it to his Instagram account, tagging the spot as a location within the official Olympic Village.

Speaking about his accommodation, Ceccon said: "It's hard to sleep both at night and in the afternoon. Usually, when I'm at home, I always sleep in the afternoon. Here I really struggle between the heat and the noise."

Steven van de Velde booed while making his Olympic debut

The convicted child rapist was booed as he competed in the preliminary phase of the beach volleyball men’s tournament at the start of the games last month.

In 2016, Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison after admitting three counts of rape against a 12-year-old girl in August 2014, with many furious that he has been allowed to compete in the Olympics.