BOISE, Idaho — A three-time Olympic gold medalist turned coach is back home in the Treasure Valley after success at the Paris Olympics. Both of Kristin Armstrong's cycling athletes made the podium, making her and the rest of the United States proud.
"Being on the other side, it's similar feelings," she said. "The anxiousness, the nerves."
Chloé Dygert won bronze in the women's individual time trial on Saturday. Armstrong called it the "race of truth" because the athletes compete against the clock.
In Paris, it was also a race against the rain. The slick roads caused her to crash.
"Chloe was disappointed," Armstrong said. "But less than 24 hours later, she realized what she had accomplished."
Like her coach, the most-decorated female cyclist of all-time in the U.S., Haley Batten also made history. She won silver in the women's cross-country mountain biking event Sunday.
"This was the top finish in the U.S. history for men and women," Armstrong said. "It's never been done before."
Batten fought her way up from 15th and dealt with mechanical issues.
"She not only flatted but her wheel exploded," she said. "So, they had to do a pitstop. To see Haley cross that line winning silver, it was amazing because her energy was so contagious. And what she accomplished, it was like, the total Olympic spirit."
Adding to her stack, Armstrong also won two medals over the weekend, not for competing but for coaching.
As a thank you for the huge role she played in their success, Dygert and Batten gave Armstrong two Olympic "Order of the Ikkos" awards.
When KTVB asked if Armstrong was proud of her athletes, she said yes.
"Going into the Olympics is, for so many, the pinnacle of sport," she said. "And once you're an Olympian, you're always an Olympian. No one takes that away from you."
Batten is done competing in Paris, but Dygert has two more events — one individual event on Monday, one team event on Tuesday.
Nearly a dozen athletes with Idaho ties are competing in the Olympics. KTVB has been following them closely and has everything people need to know about them here.