By JON FAULKNER
The USA Cycling Track Team Pursuit team of Olivia Cummins, Olympian Kristen Faulkner (Homer, AK), Bethany Ingram, and Emma Louise Jimenez Palos won Gold on Thursday, February 19, 2026 at the Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile. The USA team beat Canada in the qualifying round of the 4,000 meter race and Mexico in the finals to bring home the Gold medal. This was the first competition for these riders to race together as Team USA.
On Saturday, February 21, 2026, Kristen Faulkner won Gold in the final round of the Cycling Track Individual Pursuit against fellow Team USA rider and 2025 Pan Am Gold medalist Emily Ehrlich. Faulkner caught Ehrlich in the 4000 meter head-to-head race about three quarters of the way through the race for the automatic win. This was Faulkner’s first international competition in the Individual Pursuit and secures her an automatic berth representing the U.S. in the World Cycling Championships in 2026.
