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Local Olympic Spotlight: Glen Falls, NY Native, Megan Guarnier, Ready to Compete For Medal in Rio

Megan Guarnier (Photo Anton Vos/Cor Vos © 2016)

Megan Guarnier (Photo Anton Vos/Cor Vos © 2016)

 

Street cyclist and Glen Falls native Megan Guarnier is hoping to medal in one of the few disciplines that have been featured in every Olympics in modern history.

After taking home her third career national road race title in May, Guarnier has her sights set on Rio. However, before her cycling career took off, she was actually an accomplished swimmer with a promising career. However, into her first year at Middlebury College, Guarnier was struggling with shoulder issues after each race, so she switched to cycling, and it stuck.

Since then, to go along with her three national titles, Guarnier has won dozens of races, both in the United States and around the world. At one point, she even led the women’s World Cup cycling rankings this year. In 2012, she was first overall in the Women’s Prestige Cycling Series, and also won the Tour of California. She brings an impressive pedigree to the table when she heads to the Olympics.

She has a fairly decent chance to medal in Rio when she will hit the streets with her fellow cyclists. At the very least, she is expected to have the best chances to medal among her fellow American women, considering her two consecutive national championships. She is an all-around cyclist with no true weakness, but also no true specialty. That skill set should allow her to master all of the different terrains that she will face, and keep her in contention near the end. She could be the first American woman to medal in a road race since Kristin Armstrong, who won gold medals in both 2012 and 2008.

At some point, Guarnier has expressed interest in returning to graduate school to earn a M.D./PhD. in neuroscience, which is what her bachelor’s degree is in. She was the valedictorian at Glen Falls High School in New York, and was a YMCA national swimming finalist from 2000-2003, and also qualified for the state skiing championships in 2000 and 2001.

 

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Dan is a Staff Writer here at DoubleGSports.com with a focus on Team USA and the Rio Olympics
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