Kristin Armstrong won a record 900th gold medal for the United States in the Olympic history after clinching the women's cycling time trial title at the Beijing Olympics on Wednesday.

Armstrong, the 2006 world champion who celebrated her 35th birthday on Monday, has kept the Olympic time trial in her sight since 2005.

"It's the ride of my life. It's what I've dreamed about since I was a little kid. I had to stay focused on the descent and really push," Armstrong said.

In the sweltering August heat, the American demonstrated her sprinting ability from the beginning and dashed out in the last 3km to clock a winning time of 34:51.72 for the gold, which is also the first cycling gold for the United States at the ongoing Games.

"I can't wait to go back to Boise and be real, be myself and enjoy the moment. The next two weeks I'm going to sit back, relax and enjoy the moment," Armstrong added.

It was the 10th gold medal for the United States at the Beijing Games, and the third of the day, following two gold medals from swimming.

The United States has won most of the 900 golds from Athletics, 304 in total, and has yet to win a gold medal in 12 sports that are on the program of the Beijing Olympics.

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2008)