Homer’s Kristen Faulkner returned to Alaska Friday for the first time since winning two gold medals at the Paris Olympics last summer. She arrived at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, greeted by a small contingent of fans and family chanting “U-S-A! U-S-A!” as she descended the airport steps. Faulkner won an individual gold medal in the women’s cycling road race, beating some of the world’s best endurance cyclists. She won her second gold medal with Team USA in the team pursuit event.
Faulkner currently lives in San Francisco but grew up in Homer. She said she plans to see old friends and eat fresh fish while home for the holidays.
“I got chills just looking out the window on the airplane,” Faulkner said. “I miss Alaska salmon. We always cook salmon and going skiing and we’re going to go snowmachining in a few days and we always read The Grinch and The Night Before Christmas as books before Christmas Eve.”
Faulkner attended high school in Massachusetts where she competed in three sports. She then rowed competitively at Harvard University before taking up road cycling in 2016. She moved to San Francisco in 2018 and began cycling competitively in 2020. Faulkner said she appreciated the support of her hometown and home state during the Olympic Games.
Homer Mayor Rachel Lord is excited to welcome Faulkner home. She recalled the beginning of the school year when West Homer Elementary School Principal Eric Waltenbaugh showed Faulkner’s gold medal performance to students, then pointed to her name on a plaque on the wall from when she was a student there.
Faulkner will head back to Europe in January to compete with her professional cycling team EF-Oatly-Cannondale. A welcome ceremony in Homer is planned for Dec. 27 in the Mariner Theater at Homer High School at 3 p.m.
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Photo credit alaskapublic.org
