|
by Ron Fimrite
In winning a road race of nearly 50 miles over Southern California hill and dale on a broiling Sunday morning, U.S. cyclist Connie Carpenter-Phinney made Olympic history by a mere eight inches. That slim margin of victory was achieved only when she thrust her bike forward by the handlebars at the finish line, much in the manner of a youngster clearing a curb. Her winning time of 2 hours, 11 minutes, 14 seconds for the 79.2 kilometers was matched not only by silver medalist Rebecca Twigg of the U.S. and bronze winner Sandra Schumacher of West Germany but also by fourth- and fifth-place finishers Unni Larsen of Norway and Maria Canins of Italy.
Carpenter-
The latter three cyclists started their final sprints some 500 meters from the finish. Twigg made her move 100 meters or so later, and Carpenter-Phinney, a powerful sprinter despite her slender 5'10", 130-pound figure, didn't accelerate until just 200 meters remained. For a time she despaired of overtaking Twigg, who moved into the lead with 100 meters left, but Carpenter-Phinney caught her just three meters from the end and then lunged past her for the gold—and her chapter in the annals of the Games.
Carpenter-Phinney had won the first women's cycling event in Olympic history. She had become the first American to win any cycling medal since Carl Schutte captured a bronze at the 1912 Stockholm Games. In one race she and Twigg had equaled the total medal count for individual U.S. cyclists in all previous Olympics. And had Connie's husband of 10 months, Davis Phinney, won the men's road race later that same day—and he was among the favorites going in—they would have become the first American husband and wife to win individual golds in any sport. Alas, he finished fifth, although he would later win a bronze in the men's team time trial five days later.
Carpenter-Phinney's thrilling victory came in the only women's cycling event at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. However, when the women's road race is held today on the streets of Atlanta, it will be one of six women's races in the 1996 Olympics.
Carpenter-Phinney was an amazingly versatile athlete. At 14, and with minimal experience, she competed on the U.S. speed skating team at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, finishing seventh in the 1,500 meters. But a chronic ankle injury caused her to abandon that sport shortly before the 1976 Games. It was then, at the urging of Olympic skater-cyclist Sheila Young, among others, that Connie Carpenter turned to cycling. She won two national championships, road race and pursuit, in her first year on the bike, but she quit the circuit for a year after the 1979 season out of frustration over the lack of competition and opportunities for women in the sport. In '80 she rowed on the University of California's national champion four oars with cox. Largely due to Phinney's persuasiveness, she returned to cycling after graduating from Cal in '81.
"Connie clearly hadn't reached her potential," said Davis, who had met Carpenter at a race in Arizona in '78. "She didn't have that kind of singular focus or direction." He provided that direction, and by the '84 Games she had won a record 12 national championships plus four world titles. By 9:30 a.m. on the day of her Olympic debut, the temperature had climbed to 92º, but she was ready. Said Davis, of Connie's performance leading up to the Games, "She reminded me of a thoroughbred racehorse."
However, the historic Olympic race was her last. She retired that very day, at 27, preferring thereafter to root for her husband, who competed successfully—five national championships—as a professional until two years ago.
The couple, parents of two children, Taylor, 6, and Kelsey, 2, lives in Boulder, Colo., and operates a variety of business enterprises there, including a bike shop, an apparel company and summer cycling camps. "We're very fortunate," says Connie, "to have made a living out of a sport that was basically just a passion."
SI Olympic Dailies
|
