London Olympics: Kristin Armstrong retains cycling gold

LONDON -- Cyclist Kristin Armstrong, who will turn 39 in 10 days, looked formidable Wednesday afternoon, successfully defending her Olympic gold in the individual time trial event.

She had come out of retirement to compete in the 2012 Games, but her participation seemed in question after she suffered a broken collarbone in late May. Armstrong crashed on a turn during a race in her hometown of Boise, Idaho, and managed to get up to finish the stage.

Here, she owned the podium with an impressive performance, recording a time of 37 minutes, 34.82 seconds, winning by 15.47 seconds.

Judith Arndt of Germany, the reigning world champion, took the silver medal, and Olga Zabelinskaya of Russia secured the bronze.

In 2008, Armstrong won with an even bigger margin, by 25 seconds in Beijing.

Armstrong, who crashed in Sunday’s rainy road race and managed to finish, in 35th place, told reporters after the event: “I didn’t know until I crossed the finish line [about Arndt’s ride].

“People try to tell you [that] you are on track, but out on the course today, the information I was getting was that it was a close race,” Armstrong said. “I just needed to give it everything if I really wanted it.”

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