Three years ago, American cyclist Kristen Faulkner quit her job as a venture capitalist to pursue professional cycling. 

Now, as a first-time Olympian, she's won gold in the women's road race and the women's team pursuit.

Originally, Faulkner was only slated to compete in the women's team pursuit. But at the last minute, teammate Taylor Knibb dropped out of the road race to focus on her triathlon prep. Faulkner was then faced with a decision: compete in the road race and risk injury two days before the event she already had lined up, or don't compete and miss out on a second chance for gold. Her title is the United States' first in over 40 years.

"There were a lot of people that were like, 'It's your first Olympics. Maybe you're biting off more than you can chew.'" the 31-year-old said. "I was really torn, and the night before, I just said, 'You know what? I have a gut feeling that this is gonna be a good race.' And for most of my life, when I have a good feeling and I follow it, things work out."

On the latest daily episode of The Podium: An NBC Olympic and Paralympic podcast, titled "Day 15: Making the Break," Faulkner details how her forgotten dream of being an Olympic rower and her experience as a venture capitalist influenced both of the decisions that turned her life upside down.

"From venture capital, I learned [to take] calculated risks, how to assess risks ... When you make a decision in venture capital, you have to go all in," Faulkner said. "You're never halfway into a deal. It's either you're in or you're out, and if you're in, you're all in."

Hear all of that and more on the newest episode of The Podium.

New episodes of The Podium will be released every day during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. 

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