Advertisement

100 Olympic Tidbits: France's Champion Cyclist

Felicia Ballanger of France was one of the best female cyclists in Olympic history and considered the best in the 1990s. During her career, she won three gold medals in two Olympiads and broke six world records.

Ballanger didn’t get off to a promising start, finishing fourth in the sprint event in Barcelona, her Olympic debut, and breaking her collarbone in a crash a year later. But she bounced back in Atlanta, winning the gold in the sprint, and repeated as champion four years later in Sydney, where she also won a gold in the 500m time trial.

Ballanger also stamped he class in the world championships, winning five straight golds from 1995 to 1999 in both the sprint and 500m to establish herself as the most dominant female cyclist of the 1990s.

Editor's Note: To celebrate the 100-day countdown to the London Games, we will be publishing 100 tidbits about the Olympics. Come back to Yahoo! PH Sports, as we publish a new tidbit every day.