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2-time Olympic cycling medalist loses congressional election by fraction of a percent

Olympic cycling champ Marty Nothstein lost his election by less than 800 votes. (AP Photo)
Olympic cycling champ Marty Nothstein lost his election by less than 800 votes. (AP Photo)

Olympic sprint cycling 1996 silver medalist and 2000 gold medalist Marty Nothstein lost a congressional special election race by less than 800 votes, latest poll results are showing.

Nothstein, the most recent American to win gold in track cycling, lost the election against Democrat Susan Wild last week to become the congressional representative for Pennsylvania’s 7th District by about 10 percent. However, representative Charlie Dent vacated his position in the soon-to-be-dissolved 15th District earlier this year, so Wild and Nothstein ran simultaneously for Dent’s position.

Had the Republican candidate won, he would have served for just eight weeks – one of the shortest terms in history.

Last week, Nothstein led Wild by just 58 votes, but as of Thursday night, closed but unofficial polls showed Wild had 130,353 votes, Nothstein 129,594, and Libertarian candidate Tim Silfies received 8,579. That’s a difference of 759 votes – a 0.26 percent loss – for the former cyclist.

Lucky for Nothstein, his days in politics likely aren’t over yet. The 47-year-old was already the chairman of the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners and can hang onto that role.

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