Race Coverage

Wow!

Saturday, 20 August 2016 23:10

By Usatriathlon.org

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Gwen Jorgensen of the United States surged away from defending Olympic champion Nicola Spirig of Switzerland to win the first Olympic gold medal in triathlon for the United States on Saturday at Copacabana Beach. Vicky Holland of Great Britain sprinted past teammate Non Stanford for the bronze at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games.

Jorgensen's historic gold is the first Olympic medal for the U.S. since Susan Williams won bronze at the Athens 2004 Games. Jorgensen (St. Paul, Minn.) had been vocal about her goal to win gold in Rio after a flat tire at the London 2012 Games led to a 38th-place finish. Since...

London, Jorgensen won world titles in both 2014 and 2015 and completed an unprecedented 12-win streak on the ITU World Triathlon Series circuit. Jorgensen holds the record for most individual titles on the World Triathlon Series circuit by a woman with 17 career victories.

Jorgensen and Spirig were inseparable for most of the race with each athlete matching her competitor's moves on both the bike and run until Jorgensen broke away on the final lap of the run to finish the 1,500-meter swim, 38.48-kilometer bike and 10-kilometer run course in 1 hour, 56 minutes, 16 seconds. Spirig claimed the silver in 1:56:56 and Holland finished in 1:57:01 in the 55-athlete race.

"It's pretty crazy to show up on the day -- after four years -- and be able to accomplish what I wanted to accomplish," Jorgensen said. "It's a huge testament to both my husband, Patrick Lemieux, and my coach, Jamie Turner. They have invested way more in me than anyone will ever know, unless they've seen us work together. This is as much their medal as it is mine."

Jorgensen, a product of the USA Triathlon Collegiate Recruitment Program, exited the swim with the first pack, which contained some of the sport's strongest cyclists, including Flora Duffy of Bermuda, Spirig, Holland and Stanford. Jorgensen and the pack covered the breakaway attempts on the bike, setting the University of Wisconsin graduate up to showcase her signature run prowess. Spirig was the only athlete to stay with Jorgensen on the run and the two engaged in a tactical battle until Jorgensen surged away from Spirig with about 2k remaining. READ MORE