Anna Kiesenhofer

Anna Kiesenhofer is a mathematics lecturer at the "Eidgenössischen Technischen Hochschule" (technical college) in Lausanne. She studied maths und physics as an undergraduate in Vienna, did her Master's Degree in Cambridge and gained a PhD in Barcelona, her special subject being partial differential equations. She has published a paper entitled "Noncommutative integrable systems on b-symplectic manifolds" and one last year on "A $b$-symplectic slice theorem" (sic). Yesterday we saw her on TV, winning a gold medal in the women's road cycling race, in the Olympic Games! She collapsed after crossing the finish line in an agony of leg-cramps but was composed again and calmly euphoric when receiving her medal on the podium. Her unexpected win had startled the other contestants.

An article in an Austrian journal comments 

Sowohl Mathematik als auch Radsport erfordern einen ähnlichen Charakter – man muss sich auf eine Sache konzentrieren können, braucht viel Willenskraft.

In translation, mathematics and cycling demand similar qualities  – the ability to concentrate and determination.

There's no stopping these determined women!

I'm going to use the article about her as reading material for my German conversation group when we resume our get-togethers in September.

The big-screen TV on which we watched the race was on the Earl of Sussex pub's patio on Sussex Drive. We'd met Barbara outside the National Gallery by arrangement on Sunday evening because we hadn't seen her for a while and had then crossed the road for a beer with her. While we were drinking and talking a thundercloud rolled in and would have soaked us to the skin, if there hadn't been a substantial awning to shelter under. The broadcast from Tokyo distracted us while we waited for the storm to pass.