Kristin Armstrong won the Olympic individual time trial at Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016. The American secured her third gold one day before her 43rd birthday.
Before professional cycling, Armstrong competed at the 1999 Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. Her Olympic debut at Athens 2004 brought eighth place in the road race.
She retired at the end of 2009 after her second world time-trial title, then announced a return in 2010.
Three gold medals compress the story into a single sentence. The career behind them is more revealing than a results list: a move from triathlon, an Olympic debut without a medal and a comeback after retirement all preceded her repeated victories.