Stories From The Olympics – Notable Cyclers In Olympic History

With the Olympic games just have rounded the corner, what a better time than now to take a look at some of the most notable names in the history of cycling.

Christa Luding-Rothenburger

Significantly few people ranked medals in the summer and the winter Olympics in the same year, but Christa Luding-Rothenburger was the first. She is a remarkable athlete from Germany who took home the gold in 1984, dominating the women's 500-meter speed skating competition that year, and would accomplish even more. A few years before, she decided to start cycling during the skating off seasons to keep herself fit and expand her athletic portfolio. Not to the surprise of her coach, she excelled in cycling and went on to secure a gold medal in the sport at the World Cycling Championships in 1986.

At the Calgary Winter Olympics in 1988, Christa Luding-Rothenburger took home a silver medal for her 500m speed skating competition and a gold in the 1000m speed skating competition. However-- this is not the end of the story. In the summer, she also competed in the Seoul Olympics and won a silver medal during the track cycling sprint competition. Her win is what secured her spot in history; not only being one of the few Olympians to secure medals in the winter and summer games both within the same year but also being the first to pull off the impressive feat.

Clara Hughes

Clara Hughes is a Canadian Olympian who started as your typical troubled teen. She was a misfit in high school and was not particularly interested in sports until she watched Gaétan Boucher's speed skating performance at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. Following her example, Clara decided to start her career in speed skating and was quickly noticed by a coach in cycling. Taking her on and switching her sport, she began participating in competitive track and road cycling. Thankfully, she was equally adept at the sport and secured a bronze medal at the Atlanta Olympics in the 1996 road race and time trial competition.

Making her presence known in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney-- her performance was not up to par, and she failed to place in the top three. This failure turned her mind back to her original love, speed skating. Seventeen months later, she participated in the 2002 Winter Olympics at Salt Lake and secured a bronze medal for her performance in the 5000m speed skating competition. She didn't stop there-- Clara also went on to win a gold medal in the 5000m, and a silver for her team participated in the Turin Olympic in 2006. In the winter of 2010, she secured a bronze medal in the 5000m, which brought her to a grand total of 6 Olympic podiums awards over both the summer and winter games. She is the only cycling and skating athlete to secure several medals in both competitions in all of history.

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