{"id":546262,"date":"2026-04-23T11:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T11:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/546262\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T11:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T11:00:09","slug":"i-took-matters-into-my-own-hands-olympic-champion-kristen-faulkner-is-using-ai-to-hit-her-best-ever-power-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/546262\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I took matters into my own hands’ \u2013 Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner is using AI to hit her best-ever power numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Olympic road champion Kristen Faulkner<\/a> says she has hit a new 20-minute power personal best thanks to her own AI research.<\/p>\n

The EF Education-Oatly<\/a> rider wrote on LinkedIn that she has been coding with her own personal data for more than 10 hours a day over the last two months.<\/p>\n

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As a result, she has built a system that processes her information \u2013 such as heart rate, sleep, weight, power, and menstrual cycle phases \u2013 and runs it against 4,400 hours of her training history, giving her \u201cactionable\u201d ideas.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe research I needed about my own body did not exist. So I built it with AI,\u201d Faulkner wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo little performance research is done on women, particularly regarding the needs of elite female athletes. So I took matters into my own hands, and I started writing the research myself. I did not want to keep waiting for someone else to study the questions that matter to my body.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor nine years, I collected biometric data that I struggled to synthesize. Heart rate. HRV. Sleep. Weight. Power. Temperature. Training load. Menstrual cycle phases. Bloodwork. DEXA scans.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery app gave me one piece of the story, but the answer was never in one app.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The research I needed about my own body did not exist. So I built it with AI.https:\/\/t.co\/fvX09qFXuZ<\/p>\n

\u2014 cantworkitout on\u00a0April 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Faulkner explained the AI models she has built for herself are \u201ctrained on my body\u201d and \u201cspecific to my history\u201d.<\/p>\n

The research has been so valuable, she added, that she credits it with helping her to win three gold medals at the recent Pan American Championships: the individual pursuit and team pursuit on the track, and the time trial on the road.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I’d get back from my ride and jump onto my laptop in kit before putting my bike away. I’d start a coding session and let it run while I showered,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

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\"Kristen\n<\/p>\n

The American won the Olympic road race in 2024. <\/p>\n

(Image credit: SWpix.com)<\/p>\n

Faulkner became a pro cyclist for the first time in 2021, aged 28, following a career in venture capital. She holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in computer science from Harvard University, one of the top universities in the world, and invests in AI companies.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI is going to change women\u2019s performance research from the bottom up, and I want to be a part of it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came into cycling late. I did not win because I had the deepest race history or the most experience. I won because I used my brain as much as I could. Before my first European race, I made flashcards of the riders, I studied every corner of every course, and I analyzed my data rigorously. I am doing the same thing now, with AI.\u201d<\/p>\n

The number of AI training platforms<\/a> has multiplied in recent years. Already, cyclists can subscribe to a virtual coach with HumanGo, receive AI-powered plans through apps like Spoked, Vekta and Garmin Coach, and speak with an AI chatbot version of Sir Bradley Wiggins with The Coachsters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile AI offers valuable guidance, a balance is crucial,\u201d David Bailey, head of sport science at NSN Cycling Team<\/a> told Cycling Weekly earlier this year. \u201cRecreational cyclists risk becoming too reliant on AI, potentially ignoring their body\u2019s feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n

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