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Charm City-native and Olympic mountain biker Georgia Gould, who we blogged about here last week, came from behind in exciting fashion to nab bronze Saturday in London. Gould, who took eighth in Beijing four years ago, figured to contend for a medal and didn’t disappoint despite rocky early going.
By all accounts, including her own, Gould got off to a slow start as she picked her way in the beginning of the race. According to the Daily Peloton (“up to the minute U.S. and international pro cycling news”), Gould came around the first loop next to teammate Lea Davison, in 16th and 17th place, respectively. “On the first of six larger laps, Gould began passing riders and moved from 16th place into seventh, only nine seconds behind the leader, Bresset,” the Daily Peloton reported. An interview with Gould and video race clips from NBC can be found here.
Julie Bresset of France took the gold, with the 32-year-old Gould finishing just six seconds behind silver medalist Sabine Spitz of Germany. Davison finished 11th.
Gould, who grew up in Guilford and Ruxton, now lives in Fort Collins, Co. She earned the seventh American cycling medal at the Games — all by women as the Daily Peloton noted. U.S. cyclist Kristin Armstrong successfully defended her time trial gold medal from Beijing with another win in London.
Gould might have been considered a strong medal contender before the race, but that didn’t diminish her astonishment standing on the Olympic podium.
"Oh my gosh," USA Today quoted Gould shortly after the race with the bronze medal around her neck. "I can't even describe it. I'm still a little bit in shock, I think."
The Huffington Post did a Q & A with Gould on nutrition for their recent "Like an Olympian" series, but my favorite takeaway was Gould's belief that "nerves are good." It's her advice to "be excited that you are nervous" when tackling a challenge. It just means you care, she says.
